ARCH8030_27913: The scope of the literature review provides a central idea about the topic of research: Research Project, UU, Ireland

Literature review

2.0 Introduction

The scope of the literature review provides a central idea about the topic of research, which is the identification of the optimum balance between regulatory requirements and the socio-cultural identity of a building. Academic writers have written and conducted extensive research for most of the literature’s discussions causing controversies and debates. It is available in various formats, including generalistic papers, articles, and eBooks concentrating on regulatory frameworks and practiced dimensions of adaptive reuse and sociocultural identity.  Although the literature presents the themes in a variety of contexts, this primarily focuses on their application to the topic.

With that in mind, this section has been broken up into four parts. The first assesses the history of culture in relation to built heritage and theoretical underpinnings. The second part of this section examines the history and the regulatory framework discussions in relation to adaptive reuse, while the third addresses the methods currently used in ensuring the cultural identity of a building. In the fourth and final section, concluding observations are presented.

2.1 Building construction as a socio-cultural entity.

Husain (2021) in his seminal work ‘The impact of cultural context on innovative Iraqi architecture: House facades as a case study conducts research on innovative architecture in Baghdad during the 1950s and 1960s. Through a case study, he annualized the innovations at the time and how that has led to elevating the architectural practice and improving cultural contextual values.

In his 2019 text ‘Ranking of Adaptive Reuse Strategies for Abandoned Industrial Heritage in Vulnerable Contexts: A Multiple Criteria Decision Aiding Approach’ Bottero, discusses when society became socially aware of structures and their sociocultural identity and provides an in-depth analysis of the architectural style as a physical representation of culture and history. The introductory seminal text from Husain (2021) supports that a nation’s external structure and buildings reflect its citizens’ feelings about its national culture. It also illustrates the reasons why people must conserve this relationship to preserve their historical legacy. Koirala (2021) addresses the shortcomings of the previous research by stating that governments can be the drivers of regulatory action to preserve buildings associated with a country’s culture, heritage, beliefs, values, etc in her journal article ‘Cultural Context in Architecture’.

By bolstering the above texts, Ismail (2018) discusses the relationship between personality, society, and the built structures in her work ‘Representation of National Identity in Malaysian State Mosque Built Form as a Socio-Cultural Product’. Ismail focuses part of the work on how national identity can be seen through many architectural forms and materials. She also states in what way national heritage is vital because it provides individuals with a feeling of protection and inclusion. In addition, it also serves as a depiction of how people view themselves.

The text entitled ‘Problems of Russian Construction Education in an Age of Innovation: Socio-Cultural and Legal Aspects’ written by Pryadko and Lebedev (2017) elaborates in their supporting work on how a lack of knowledge in this area can affect the reconstruction of heritage structures. This in turn would affect cultural identity, in the context of the educational system. Regarding cultural significance in buildings, they indicate that tourists are drawn to a historic structure’s flaws and building methods. Historic sites are unique in a way that they cannot be replicated elsewhere in civilization, therefore, they state that they must be preserved.

2.2 Socio-cultural provision and adaptive reuse in built heritage: A regulatory perspective.

Reap (2022) elaborates on how cultural heritage laws originated at distinct periods in various parts of the world in his text ‘Heritage Legislation and Management. He cites examples of heritage protection from the classical period through to the medieval period. The beginning of contemporary regulation and its impact on the sociocultural approach to architectural design is deliberated by Reap throughout his work. He continues by exploring how assistance from the government would help the national and local authorities to understand the importance of the building and construction.

Linking in with Reap, ‘The Cork City Development Plan 2022-2028’ written by Cork County Council (2022) provides extensive information regarding community participation in planning and addressing local issues with historic and protected structures. It outlines its protected building-related priorities as a local government in a document.

With building reuse and the regulatory environment in place, Martzoukou and Burnett’s (2018) influential work ‘Exploring the Everyday Life Information Needs and the Sociocultural Adaptation Barriers of Syrian Refugees’ conducts interviews and research on the effect that the regulatory framework has on the structure’s history and culture. In addition, they also question the effect this can have on the current cultural needs of Syrian refugees in relation to the lack of housing available. With this, they show an entirely new perspective compared to standard academic works.

Aigwi’s (2020) journal article ‘Identifying parameters for a performance-based framework: Towards selecting underutilized historical buildings for adaptive reuse’ provides additional evidence for the claims made in the prior works. His paper supports Reap (2022) and The Cork County Council Development Plan from 2022 by briefly discussing the UN and EU cultural heritage regulations specifically going into depth on the transmission of information, discussion, and partnership between the Government, local and regional officials, contextual organizations, and the community at numerous phases of the decision-making procedures.

Husain’s (2021) paper entitled ‘the impact of cultural context on innovative Iraqi architecture: House facades as a case study is applicable here since it expands upon the prior research conducted. Husain mentions the future by going into detail on the preservation laws and management strategies that are still having to evolve today at a faster rate than ever before. Husain specifically goes into the effects of climate change on cultural assets. He illustrates the conventional approach for selecting a historic structure for adaptive reuse and the implementation of legislation that is currently being used in New Zealand.