Module-2 - Social and Cultural Approach

SOCIAL AND CULTURAL APPROACH
INTRODUCTION
Inter personal gestures and relationships
© 2020, Nitte School of Architecture, Planning & Design, Bengaluru. All rights reserved to
INTRODUCTION
Art signifies the ingenious and creative aspect and architecture is an exquisite blend of this aspect with a
sense of empirical notions.
Art
Forms
INTRODUCTION
Building style
Architecture
Our huge and highly variegated store of knowledge about the ways that humans occupy and use
their space becomes most meaningful when studied in the light of culture relation to building
design.
What does culture mean?
“the whole way of life, material, intellectual, and spiritual,

of a givensociety.”
“Culture embraces complex ways of living, value systems,

traditions, beliefs and habits; including knowledge, morals,
law and customs, acquired by those within that Society.
These provide for a set of ‘cultural objects’, which
symbolise a shared schematic experience, and which we
recognise as having cultural value.”
components of culture
• Social Interaction
• Language
• Aesthetics
• Religion
• Education
• Value System
• Material Life
components of culture
▶ Social interactions - nuclear family, extended family, reference groups.
▶ Language - The spoken and the silent language.
▶ Aesthetics - Ideas and perceptions that a culture upholds in terms of beauty and
good taste.
▶ Religions - refers to the spiritual side of a culture or its approach to the
supernatural.
▶ Education - To learn and be updated.
▶ Values - To shape people’s norms and standards.
▶ Materials - It includes the techniques and know-how used in the creation of goods
and services.
CULTURE AND ARCHITECTURE

The relationship between culture and architecture
“The result is that the culture of each community defines the identity of
the community and architecture as a social phenomenon was originated
from the culture and its effects. Art and architecture are of the most
important characteristics of each nation and every historical period that
indicate the environment human’s lives at any time.”
“Architecture is the portray of a nation’s culture integrated with all

aspects of human life and has a profound impact on it. Architecture is
the results of the culture of the society”
So when you see in a society the most famous buildings are libraries,
museum and universities while in other societies the most famous
buildings are shopping malls you can get an indication of the culture
of this society
In one hand, architecture is a reflection of city culture, and in the other
hand architecture can change our culture
URBAN AND SOCIAL CULTURE
CULTURE AND CITIES

culture is at the heart of urban development, evidenced through cultural landmarks, heritage and traditions
Modern cities are the centers of economic development, the concentration of innovations in all spheres of
life. They also turn out to be centers of social and cultural life
Today we can observe a paradigm shift in the city development: “office-city”, “machine-city’ and “industrial
city” are replaced by the “cultural city’, "city for life", "a city that promotes a healthy life-style" model.
Cities now are experiencing the strongest pressure of growing cultural diversity and social heterogeneity of
the population. The population of cities consists of representatives of different nationalities, languages,
religions and social levels and it will be more and more evident in the future cities.
Space and Scale through different

Cultures
What do you see and derive from

this
picture ????
Religion was the supreme power and hence

religious structures was the main
focus
What do u derive from this picture

????
Medieval Period- 5th - 15th Century AD

● The Church and monasticism
● Rise of Islam
● Byzantine empire
● State power
● The Crusades
● Carolingian dynasty (Large empire in western and central Europe during the Early
Middle Ages (800-888)
The central position of the church or cathedral is the key to the layout of the medieval
city; within its narrow area, its tower or the shadows they throw are visible from every
point and the difference in size between its towering walls and the little houses that
huddle at the base is a symbol of relation between sacred and profane affairs.
The marketplace grows up by the church because it is there that the citizens most
frequently assemble. It was in the church, in the early days, that the city’s treasury was
stored; and it was in the church, sometimes behind the High Altar, that deeds were
deposited for safekeeping, because of its central location.
It could have been considered as a community center building.
URBAN AND SOCIAL CULTURE
ASSIGNMENT
HOW LOCAL CULTURES CONTRIBUTE TO THE SUSTAINABLEDEVELOPMENT

OF CITIES ….?????
VARIOUS CULTURE LAYERS INFLUENCEING IN URBAN DESIGN ???
PLANNING IMPACTS ON
HISTORICAL CITIES
EVOLUTION
INDIAN CITIES
1. VEDIC ERA
2. DRAVIDIAN ERA
ASSIGNMENT
3. MUGHAL ERA
4. COLONIAL ERA
TOWN PLANNING ASPECTS

• Town planning is not new idea or science in India.
It is as old as its rich culture and tradition.
• In this period, Vedas as well as books were wrote on town

Planning.
• In “Vishwa-Karmaprakash” it was stated that “first layout

the towns and then plan the houses.”
• “Shilpshastra” wrote by “architect Mansara” discussed

study on soil, topography, climatology and various layouts
like Dandaka, swastika, padmaka, nandyavarta.
TOWN PLANNING ASPECTS

The building science was quite advanced during the Vedic period. Vaastu Shastra is theoldest
known town planning in India.
• The Vedic civilization leaving its primitive stage far behind had registered remarkable progress in
the field of building edifices and planning villages and towns.
• The scope of Ancient Indian town planning included all relevant requirement of a healthy civic life.
• This science includes descriptions of temples, moats, city, fortsetc.
Cities and Functions
• Nagara is a traditional city where the sacred and secular mingle.

• The Temples forms the link between the cosmic and human.
• The cities were laid according to various elements of Vedas:
 Sthapatya Veda – City layout

 Smriti Shastra – Street layout on macro and micro level
 Vaastu Shastra – Building planning and design, site selection,
service layout, landscaping and building orientation
 Arthashastra – Environmental management
 Vaastu Purusha mandala
Vaastu Shastra endorses 5 town shapes:
• Chandura – Square
• Agatara – Rectangle
• Vritta – Circle
• Kritta vritta – Elliptical
• Gola vritta – Full circle
TOWN PLANNING
• A city located centrally to facilitate trade and commerce.
• The Site - large in area, and near a perennial water body.
• Shape - circular, rectangular or square as would suit the topography.
• Separate areas for marketing different goods.
• The main roads should be 8 dandas wide and other roads 4 dandas wide. 1
well for 10 houses.
ANCIENT TOWN CLASSIFICATION

• Dandaka
• Sarvathobhadra
• Nandyavarta
• Padmaka
• Swastika
• Prastara
• Karmuka
• Chaturmukha
DANDAKA SARVATOBHADRA PADMAKA
• Streets are straight and cross each other at right • This type of town plan is applicable to larger • This type of plan was practiced for building
angles at the centre. villages and towns, which have to beconstructed of the towns with fortress all round.
• Village has 4 gates on foursides on a square sites.
• Rectangular / square plan • The pattern of the plan resembles the
• Width of the street varies from one - Fivedanda. • According to this plan, the whole town should be petals of lotus radiating outwards from the
• 2 transverse street at the extremities have single fully occupied by houses of various descriptions center.
row of houses. and inhabited by all classes ofpeople.
• The village offices located in theEast. • The city used to be practically an island
• The female deity/ chamadevata - • The temple dominates thevillage surrounded by water, having no scope for
expansion.
NANDYAVARTA
• This plan is commonly used for the
construction of towns and not for villages.
SWASTIKA
• It is generally adopted for the sites either
circular or square in shape, 3000 – 4000
HOUSES
• The streets run parallel to the central

adjoining streets with the temple of the
presiding deity in the center of the town.
• Swastika type of plan contemplates some diagonal
• “Nandyavarta” is the name of a flower,the streets dividing the site into certain rectangular
form of which is followed in thislayout. plots.
• The site need not be marked out into a square or
rectangle and it may be of any shape.
• A rampart wall surrounds the town, with a moat at
its foot filled with water.
• Two main streets cross each other at the center,
running south to north and west to east.
PRASTARA KARMUKA CHATURMUKHA
• This plan is suitable for the place where the site

• The characteristic feature of thisplan of the town is in the form of a bow or semi-
is that the site may be either square circular or parabolic and mostly applied for • Chaturmukha type of plan is applicable
or rectangular but not triangular or towns located on the seashore or riverbanks. to all towns starting from the largest
circular. town to the smallest village.
• The sites are set apart for the poor, • The main streets of the town run from north to
the middle class, the rich and thevery • The site may be either squareor
south or east to west and the cross streets run
rich, the sizes of the sites increasing rectangular having fourfaces.
at right-angles to them, dividing the whole area
according to the capacity of each to into blocks.
purchase or build upon. • The town is laid out east to west
• The main roads are much wider lengthwise, with four mainstreets.
• The presiding deity, commonly a female deity,
compared to those of otherpatterns.
is installed in the temple build in any • The temple of the presiding deity will
• The town may or may notbe
convenient place. be always at the center
surrounded by a fort.

Module-2 - Social and Cultural Approach

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Module-2 - Social and Cultural Approach

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

SOCIAL AND CULTURAL APPROACH

Inter personal gestures and relationships

What does culture mean?

“the whole way of life, material, intellectual, and spiritual,

“Culture embraces complex ways of living, value systems,

CULTURE AND ARCHITECTURE

“Architecture is the portray of a nation’s culture integrated with all

CULTURE AND CITIES

Space and Scale through different

What do you see and derive from

Religion was the supreme power and hence

What do u derive from this picture

Medieval Period- 5th - 15th Century AD

HOW LOCAL CULTURES CONTRIBUTE TO THE SUSTAINABLEDEVELOPMENT

VARIOUS CULTURE LAYERS INFLUENCEING IN URBAN DESIGN ???

TOWN PLANNING ASPECTS

• In this period, Vedas as well as books were wrote on town

• In “Vishwa-Karmaprakash” it was stated that “first layout

• “Shilpshastra” wrote by “architect Mansara” discussed

TOWN PLANNING ASPECTS

• This science includes descriptions of temples, moats, city, fortsetc.

Cities and Functions

• Nagara is a traditional city where the sacred and secular mingle.

 Sthapatya Veda – City layout

ANCIENT TOWN CLASSIFICATION

DANDAKA SARVATOBHADRA PADMAKA

• The streets run parallel to the central

PRASTARA KARMUKA CHATURMUKHA

• This plan is suitable for the place where the site

You might also like