Cultural Identity: The Latest Architecture and News

Gyumri, the capital of Armenia's Shirak region and the country's second-largest city, was historically known for its culture and architectural heritage. While it was part of the Soviet Union, the city hosted many factories that turned it into a primary industrial center in the region, reaching a population of approximately 225,000 people. However, during the past decades, Gyumri has seen a considerable population decline as a consequence of a devastating earthquake that destroyed the city in 1988 and killed thousands of people. More than 30 years later, Gyumri's regeneration process is still unfolding. The city's ongoing efforts to restore its built environment and boost economic development offer valuable insights into how urban regeneration can be navigated in the aftermath of disaster.

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Starting on June 30th, 2024, Edmund Sumner presents the “Traces” exhibition, a solo show at Rodic Davidson Architects in London featuring architectural photography that explores cultural identity and historical significance across diverse landscapes. The show offers a profound exploration of architecture and design across diverse landscapes, including Europe, India, and Mexico, presenting a compelling intersection between photography and the built environment. Additionally, the photographer is expected to release his fifth book with Thames & Hudson in 2025.

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In the mountain valleys of China’s Fujian Province, thousands of large, rammed earth fortresses lay abandoned. Once used for both defense and collective housing, the tulou typology is an integral part of the region’s cultural heritage, with 46 of them being recognized by UNESCO as World Heritage Sites. Despite this, the rural communities surrounding them have struggled to find new roles and purposes for these buildings. Going beyond the need for conservation, architect Xu Tiantian of DnA_Design and Architecture set out to develop and adapt this heritage to reintroduce it into community life. The Fujian Tulou | Adaptive Reuse project recently won the Gold Prize of Holcim Awards 2023 for Asia-Pacific, recognized for creating “an exemplary model for building conservation initiatives.” In a video interview for ArchDaily, Xu Tiantian discusses the principles that underpin this initiative and the potential outcomes of adaptive reuse in rural communities.

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Ornament and Its Discontents

Disguise, makeup. Expression of the subjectivity of a group, language, or sign. Historical document, emblem of fleeting fashions. A crime. Ornaments have been interpreted in different ways and are considered one of the most degenerate sins of architecture. Resisting the temptation of decoration has become a virtue, a legitimate sign of authenticity and a possible future.

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This article was originally published on Common Edge.

It has been about 200 years since the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris created an academic discipline—and thus the profession—of architecture. The central role of the architect as the defining agent of creation transcended the Master Builder, a role that defined those who designed buildings not as experts or celebrities but as stewards of building traditions.

Videos

Tales from the Altiplano is a series of live Instagram talks with Andrew Kovacs, Delphine Blast, Manuel Seoane, Patricio Crooker and many more. We will be questioning how architecture is seen as a means of reclaiming a cultural identity. How in this informal Bolivian context can we construct a new way to approach architecture. The AAVS El Alto explores the Altiplano as an example to counteract a certain gentrifying flatness of today’s architecture- providing an opportunity to describe singularities and sub-cultures, through iconographic and architectural strategies. In these unsettling times, our Programme has been suspended in response to the current health crisis. However, this series will keep alive the conversation about architecture and urbanism with artists, researchers, and young Architects and Designers.