Spatium

Impresum No. 50

Jasna Petrić — 2023-12-29

Editorial No. 50

Jasna Petrić — 2023-12-29

On capsularities: Physical and diffuse envelopes between accessibility and representation

Peter Šenk — 2023-12-29

Envelopes are an important topic in the study of architecture and urbanism and have a profound impact on our daily lives. They form boundaries, edges, enclosures and joints with ecological, territorial and representational functions that have social, cultural, economic, technological, environmental and political significance. Referring to warnings about capsular civilisation, this paper promotes the metaphorically telling concept of capsularity, in order to overcome terminological inconsistency as a characteristic phenomenon that denotes enclosures at different scales. It includes both capsules as small-scale cellular units on an architectural or industrial design scale – referred to as units of individual capsularity – and extended structures and territorial enclosures as manifestations of collective capsularity. Furthermore, a typology of collective capsularity is proposed. While complete and permeable envelopes entail physical spatial demarcation, diffuse envelopes are based on a technological system of control and surveillance. However, diffuse envelopes also complement both complete envelopes and permeable envelopes, forming masked capsular hybrids. After contextualising the proposed typology according to accessibility and its representation, the ambivalences of collective capsularities are considered through the lens of three selected and distinctive co-existing effects: Freedom/Control, Reality/Simulation and Seclusion/Exclusion. These effects present the concept and associated discourse as critical, pertinent and stimulating for imagining, inventing, proposing and implementing democratic, participatory and caring urban(istic) activities. The exposed typology and narratives of antagonisms involved in the operation of capsularities propose further research, policy development and planning directed towards the decapsularisation of contemporary space and promote democratic and caring possibilities for urban living in the future.

An analysis of the Slow City Movement in the context of landscape indicators: A new criteria proposal

Müge Tokuş Coşgun — 2023-12-29

The research aims to identify new landscape indicators assessing the physical characteristics and structure of the “slow cities” identified by the Slow City (Cittaslow) Movement. The movement currently includes about 300 (287 in 2023) cities from all around the world and, agrees to work on a set of goals/criteria. Although these criteria mostly highlight the unique values of the cities, they are not enough to provide an accurate evaluation of the space/land. This situation puts slow cities, once they receive the designation, in a redundant position to compete with large cities in terms of their recognition, and tourism potential, and as a result of this it poses a threat to the cities’ original values. At that point, the paper aims to identify a set of criteria based on the landscape indicators (critical parameters to evaluate the physical conditions of the landscape) to assess the spatial characteristics of nominated cities in Turkey by using comprehensive surveys. The surveys were conducted both in Turkey and the US, states of Washington and Oregon, and with samples of expert studies in the spatial planning area. According to the surveys’ strengths in the statistical power test, the index value of landscape indicators was determined, when the relevant landscape indicators were reviewed. As a result, new landscape indicators from different scales were proposed to be included in the assessment system of the Cittaslow Movement.

Analysis of architectural urban spaces based on space syntax and scenario methods

Olena Oliynyk — 2023-12-29

The article aims to examine the scenario design process, with the goal of creating an architectural environment with a better perception of urban spaces. Space analysis and generalization of the plot structure of films, as well as their types and genres, which correlate with the plot composition of the urban architectural space and spatial syntax, were used as an approach in the study. This made it possible to investigate the relationships between spatial planning and a number of social, economic and environmental phenomena. As a result of studying the plot composition of a film, it was established that its structural elements and the features of those elements can be used to analyze the architectural environment, in order to study its plot structure based on configurational models of space. Thus, the legitimacy of using cinematographic analysis for the analysis of the architectural environment was confirmed. The plot structure of the architectural environment of the city is understood as its urban structure, which, like in cinematography, can develop linearly, i.e., from the beginning of the route to the end point along one line of a street, or be more complex (non-linear), whereby all elements are placed in an arbitrary order. In cinematography, the idea of the film organizes the plot and sets the formula for the finale; however, in the architectural environment, a person, moving in the city, perceives this environment through the spatial and temporal aspect that has developed historically. Hence, the architectural and artistic appearance of the city is of crucial importance.

New perspectives on the urban semiotics of mass housing neighbourhoods in Slovakia: a case study of Petržalka

Matej Jaššo — 2023-12-29

The identity of a city is represented not only by its attractive historical centre with its landmarks, but also by the peripheral parts. Large parts of Slovak cities and neighbourhoods are covered by residential areas of panel blocks of flats built in the 1970s and 1980s. These communities and settlements are often more than 30-40 years old and have their own history, social climate and narratives. The unique and specific metatext of almost any Slovak city would remain unfinished without residential areas of panel blocks of flats. These areas have generated a specific identity based upon specific examples of urban semiotics. Urban semiotics considers the city/urban environment as a multilayer text based upon the social meaning and grammar of spatial patterns, signs and symbols. During recent years, it can be seen that Slovak mass housing neighbourhoods are not monolithic sense-less places, but rather chronicles of various stories and experiences which overcome the obsolete and uniform architectural language – landmarks and symbols of their identity are not only mere physical (architectural) forms but rather common experience and shared stories. It is obvious that Slovak mass housing neighbourhoods have failed to deliver the unique “tomorrow’s quality of life” as once declared but, on the other hand, they have never become completely excluded localities without any vital contacts with the city’s organism. Their semiotics have absorbed the overall societal development with all its ambiguity, manifoldness and uncertainty. Petržalka, as the largest Slovak mass housing neighbourhood, is particularly in the spotlight of this contribution. Once an alternative modernist vision of old Bratislava, then a drab grey dormitory without any flair, it is now transformed into a polyvocal and versatile urban environment full of opportunities, as well as challenges.

The impact of energy improvement measures in single-family residential buildings on air pollution in the city of Užice

Jana Vasiljević — 2023-12-29

The majority of existing architecture in Serbia has poor thermal characteristics, and heating systems are mostly based on polluting energy sources. This problem results in the unsatisfactory ecological image of cities, and it is endangering the health of the population. Therefore, improving energy performance is becoming an increasingly common principle of design, within both new and existing buildings. The starting point of this paper is that the use of more than sixteen thousand individual heating systems within single-family households in Užice is one of the most influential air pollutants in the city. The poor quality of energy sources and improper combustion processes release toxic substances into the atmosphere, but the cause of increased emissions of pollutants can be identified in the poor characteristics of thermal envelopes. This research explores whether there is a solution that reduces the pollution in single-family houses by changing the thermal envelope and heating system. The first part of the study points out the main characteristics of the Užice agglomeration, air pollution and energy sources, while the second part describes the selected single-family housing location in the city. The final part of the research examines the impact of various energy improvement measures on the air pollution in the city of Užice.

The driving factor for raising urban community awareness in waste management, to reduce waste during the COVID-19 pandemic

Sinan Vidi Lazuardi — 2023-12-29

Solid waste management is a complex issue, and this was especially true during the COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia. Several challenges related to this issue emerged because of the pandemic, during which countries with limited resources heavily relied on community participation. This study investigates the factors that contribute to the collective action of urban communities in waste management as a solution to raising awareness. This study adopted a quantitative method that incorporated four independent variables and one dependent variable with a 4-point Likert scale questionnaire. The data were collected through a survey using a purposive sampling method. The data collected are proportional because there is no sampling frame in this study. An analysis of the 200 samples collected in Jakarta reveals that community participation, social norms, social influence, and socioeconomic status impact collective action. However, the result from an ordinal regression analysis only shows community participation and social influence as significant variables with corresponding odds ratios of .269/.379 and .053/.168 for every one-unit increase. This study concludes that higher community participation and social influence will likely affect people’s collective action in waste management. Policies and programs incorporating community participation and social influence can be implemented based on the findings to tackle waste management awareness issues.

Sustainable development in Western Balkan countries: An analysis of decent work and economic growth

Tomasz Grodzicki — 2023-12-29

The Western Balkan countries, including Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia, participate in the framework of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set by the United Nations. In total, there are 193 countries committed to fulfilling the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which was implemented in 2015. One of the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals is to promote sustained, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth and decent work for all. This goal is expressed in the following indicators: employment and unemployment rates, people killed in accidents at work, real GDP per capita, resource productivity, and domestic material consumption. The aim of this paper is to analyze SDG 8 in the Western Balkan economies. Since the Western Balkan countries are EU candidates or potential candidates, comparing their performance with the EU average is vital. The results show that although Western Balkan countries have improved their performance, they still fall behind the EU average. They should focus more on increasing their economic growth rates and providing more sustainable workplaces. Therefore, future actions to be enhanced by the economic policy in the Western Balkans should include the implementation of legal facilitations for start-ups and other firms in order to boost the stimulus for entrepreneurship, develop sustainable migration policy, and promote stable forms of employment.