SOCIETY AND

ARCHITECTURE
 Society

 Platform where we frame our culture, identities, or

context in which we live.
 Venue for interactions, sharing experiences, negotiating
or displaying of power relations
 It is a social setting and varied social environments given
different time frame
 formal and informal groups; mainstreams and
peripherals
Society as a construct

 As a construct, societies developed through time. They

are considered living system as they go through a
process of birth, progress, development and decline.
And what remains are the buildings, monuments, roads,
buildings, all tangible materials.
Characteristics of societies
 Living systems (people, vegetation, animals)

 Dynamic (ever changing through the use of technology)

 Societies continually change in response to context and
circumstances (Dictatorship EDSA change of leadership)

 Cultural pluralism (varied ethnic groups)

 Societies are shaped and reshape

Societal issues become social problems
when a great number of the population
complain about the phenomenon,
condition, or activity.
Traffic (affects mobility)
Flooded areas (interrupts classes, work,
business)
Low lying areas (evacuation of families)
Crime areas (safety, order, and well-being)
Societal problems are social problems

Vulnerable groups - children, women and

elderly
Coastal communities destroyed by natural
disasters
The socially excluded like the informal
settlement families
Improper disposal of waste
 Levels of interactions
 Micro level – interactions within the family and friends;
Relational and personalized ; sharing of resources; sharing of
stories; common experiences
 Meso level – everyday interactions and experiences in the school,
offices, and community
Selective personal relations; impersonal relations. Formal relations
such that topics are always school activities, work related;
 Macro level – interactions with institutions, multi media;
transnational corporations
Very impersonal; more of face value; observe propriety
Developed and developing societies
 Global north – first world countries (consume
commodities)
The global north sets the agenda in leading
technology, fashion, styles, education, theories while
developing countries follow. They lead in discovering,
experimenting, and creating things
 Global south- developing countries (source of
commodities)
 The global south is the source of natural resources to be
used by the global north; dumping areas of the first world
countries (concept of ukay ukay)
 Stages of development among societies vary
due to availability of natural resources,
development of technology and creativity
Civilization in the Ancient Near East; Far East; South Asia and Andes mountains
in Peru (availability of water favorable for agricultural societies)
Classical societies in Europe and Asia ( availability of building materials in
Rome and Greece)
Global trade relations along the coastal areas of Eastern Europe
Spain, Portugal, England, France, Netherlands (leaders in maritime
technology)
Global trade relations using silk trade routes in northern Asia (Rome, Central
Asia and China)
Industrial revolution in Europe (use of coal, enhanced the use of fossil fuel)
 As societies are living systems, they have to
be protected, developed or they will decay
Vulnerable societies – along the coast; eroded areas; indigenous peoples,
informal settlements
 Exposure to hazardous events (typhoons, flood, erosion)

Resilient society – How to support people who were able to go back to near
normal living after disaster
 People build homes and go back to continue their ordinary life

Sustainable society – The vision of every society is sustainability, using renewable energy,
availability food and water
 Society could be categorized into:

Within a physical space – tangible, time frame, personal

interactions, interaction with natural resources
 Rural community
 Urban community
 Riverine community

Virtual space – no physical setting, internet communication,

members of the community have common interest
 facebook; instagram; twitter; email
Thus
 typologies of society emerged as agricultural, forest,
rural, or urban. Societies have different concepts of
food security, water availability, peace and order. And
thus varied understanding of living spaces

 Society inclusive of culture and governance are

different from each other; based on realities experience
by the people, how they engage with each other either
through familial relations, neighborhood, organizations,
or even as enemies. Also based on how they make use
of natural environment around them.
Vertical homes and
gated subdivisions
SHORELINE SOCIETY
Island society
Home along the estero
The poor and vulnerable
 dredging

aerator

Planting vetiver grass