This paper presents a conceptual framework of important cultural values, activity patterns and environmental patterns in the home environment of a typical middle-income family in Madras a South Indian City. The position of this paper is that cultural variables should play an important part in determining the form of housing; they should be explicitly accounted for and values should be related to the different components of the built environment. This framework is intended to serve as a guide suggesting programmatic criteria for design of culturally-responsive housing. As it relates abstract values to components of the built environment, and design patterns, the framework includes descriptive graphics and images.The main body of the framework is a summary of societal and activity patterns, and elements of design. A descriptive analysis of societal and family patterns looks at the interactions between society, family and the individual. Activity patterns in and around the home with their symbolic associations are examined in detail. Implications for the home environment are drawn from the observations made in these sections. This is followed by a look at the elements of design that have been manipulated in existing house forms to create culturally appropriate environments.The concluding part of the framework presents a way in which the earlier observations can be assimilated into the design process. A sample set of environmental patterns are presented using images, with their cultural purpose, design descriptions and variants. This is followed by a matrix where family types, individual roles and activities are related to the environmental qualities and in some cases to sample environmental patterns.The research involved anthropological studies for an understanding of the cultural elements like family and kinship structure, myths and beliefs, values and priorities, etc., in the Indian context. Analysis of changing house forms in response to social and cultural changes in history, and designs of culture sensitive architects, helped to identify the environmental components that relate to specific values. Christopher Alexander's idea of `patterns' was used as a tool to translate abstract cultural criteria into recognizable environmental settings. / Department of Architecture

Mung Siu Hei Vinco. / "Architecture Department, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Master of Architecture Programme 1999-2000, design report." / Includes bibliographical references. / Introduction and appendix also in Chinese. / Chapter 1) --- 序 / Chapter 2) --- Introduction / Chapter 3) --- The purpose of my thesis / Chapter 4) --- What is dwelling? / Chapter 5) --- The gap between dwelling and housing / Chapter 6) --- An alternative resettlement programme 一 Pui Man Village / Chapter 7) --- Conclusion / Chapter 8) --- Analysis of Tai Horn Village / Chapter 9) --- Tai Hom Village's sketches / Chapter 10) --- Project brief / Chapter 11) --- Site analysis / Chapter 12) --- Design criteria / Chapter 13) --- Text / Chapter 14) --- "Drawings, models and sketches" / Chapter a. --- Sketches / Chapter b. --- Sections / Chapter c. --- Plans / Chapter d. --- Design of three houses / Chapter i. --- House for an elder / Chapter ii. --- A young family's house / Chapter iii. --- Peter's house / Chapter e. --- Models / Chapter f. --- Details / Appendix / Chapter a. --- Record of interviews / Chapter b. --- Documentary drawing / Chapter c. --- Site sketches / Bibliography

Thesis. 1977. M.C.P.--Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ROTCH. / Bibliography : leaves 108-109. / M.C.P.

Thesis (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 1981. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ROTCH. / Bibliography: leaves 99-101. / by Amy Faye Philipson. / M.C.P.

Cheung Sze Lai Shirley. / "Architecture Department, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Master of Architecture Programme 2004-2005, design report."

Chong Ho Wang Alex. / "Architecture Department, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Master of Architecture Programme 2005-2006, design report." / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 37). / Acknowledgements --- p.P.3 / Prefece --- p.P.4 / Chapter 01 --- Intoduction --- p.P.5 / Chapter 02 --- Research study --- p.P.6 / Chapter 03 --- Thesis design --- p.P.18 / Bibliography --- p.P.37

The aim of this study was to investigate the bio-climatic characteristics of traditional and contemporary residential architecture in three different climatic/geographical regions of Libya, which are represented by Tripoli in the &ldquo / coastal region&rdquo / Gharyan in the &ldquo / mountainous region&rdquo / and Ghadames in the &ldquo / desert region&rdquo / . It was undertaken to understand and evaluate the effects of building layout and orientation, wall thicknesses, ceiling height, construction materials, thermal mass and size of windows, on the resultant thermal comfort conditions of the buildings/dwellings in question. An architectural survey of the dwellings was carried out and indoor and outdoor photos of houses were taken. Temperature and humidity data in pre-determined rooms of the dwellings, in addition to data relevant to exterior weather conditions were recorded by thermo-hygrometers. Residents who had experience of living in both traditional and contemporary dwellings were interviewed informally before preparing a comprehensive questionnaire, which was distributed to them to gather the required data. It was found that traditional dwellings in Tripoli and Ghadames, in their present condition, did not provide the desired level of thermal comfort. This was attributed to a number of reasons. One was the abandonment of these dwellings by their occupants, in favor of those of modern style. The resulting collapse of some parts of adjacent house blocks, which used to provide a degree of protection against climatic conditions when working as a whole block of several attached houses. Another was the introduction of new construction materials that were incompatible with the original ones. However, traditional dwellings in both cities appeared to provide relatively better thermal comfort conditions in comparison with the use contemporary dwellings of recent years, except for those with air conditioning. This situation was different in Gharyan, where the troglodyte dwellings were concerned. These dwellings were thermally more comfortable than the modern ones in the city. This was attributed to the fact that most of the existing troglodyte dwellings still preserved their original features to a large extent. At length, this study recommends that modern types of dwellings should adapt those features of the traditional ones that are more compatible and suitable for the local climatic conditions, in a way which guarantees optimum exploitation of local resources in terms of energy consumption and cost.

published_or_final_version / Architecture / Master / Master of Architecture

No description available.

This study attempts to demonstrate symbolic whale bone patterning within 31 Thule winter houses along the southeast coast of Somerset Island, Northwest Territories, Canada. All visible architectural whale bone incorporated within the dwellings was mapped. Trends towards particular patterns of whale bone distribution were demonstrated using Spearman's Rank-order Correlation Coefficient. The potential symbolic nature of such patternings was determined within the context of north Alaskan ethnographic and oral historical sources. The extensive use of whale bone in some Thule entrances suggests that their builders sought to create a distinction between the entrance tunnel and main room, not unlike the Inupiat dwellings in 19th-century Tikigaq. The significance of this architectural phenomenon is rooted in the Inupiat, and to some extent Inuit, association between women, the house and the bowhead whale. It is also suggested that whaling status may be reflected in differential access to bowhead whale bone.