2. Practice Knowledge and
Scientific Experiments:
Engaging Through Architecture
Dr. Yasser Mahgoub
Head of department of Architecture and Urban Planning
College of Engineering
Qatar University
4. Scientific Experiments
• Scientific experiments
efforts must be guided
by theory in order to
achieve valid and
reliable results.
• They should be
conducted through
theoretical
frameworks applying
reliable research
methods.
5. Architectural Education
• Project Based
Learning (PBL)
provides a medium
for knowledge to be
transmitted through
experimentation
with small problems
and large projects.
10. Sustainability
• Most experiments are
geared towards
economic and
environmental aspects.
• It is now essential to
take socio-cultural
aspects into
consideration when
looking at the solutions
that sustainable
experimntations brings
today.
Sustainability
Environmental
Economic Socio-
cultural
Context
12. Levels of Socio-Cultural Aspects
• Several levels of understanding should be addressed to
study and design for a specific society or culture:
1. Personal level includes the position of individual in
society and culture, and privacy requirements based
on gender and age.
2. Family level: includes immediate and extended family
members and family members relationships and
obligations.
3. Society level includes relationships between men,
women, children, society, ethnicity, kinship, and
nationality.
4. Cultural level includes history, language, religion,
sacred and profane, traditions, customs, and
costumes.
5. Identity level includes personal, social and cultural
identity.
13. Levels of Socio-Cultural Understanding
Identity is constructed from the person through family, society and culture. This understanding will help
architects and planners design better environments that correspond to social and cultural needs.
Identity
Culture
Society
Family
Personal
LevelsofUnderstanding
15. Best Practices
• By taking these three
variable into account,
we can evaluate best-
practices and
develop new studies
in the field.
16. Theoretical Framework
• Carrying out research
and experiments in
sustainability
architecture must be
guided by a
theoretical
framework.
Urban Space
SubjectiveQualities
Walkbaility
Objective Qualities
17.
18.
19. Cultural Heritage
• Cultural heritage
should not subject to
arbitrary
experimentation due
to its unique and
irreplaceable values.
20. Laboratory of Architectural
Experiments
Qatar is going through
another rapid phase
of its urbanization.
It is becoming a
“laboratory” for
architectural
experiments that lack
theoretical scientific
guidance.
24. Architecture is Mirror of Society
“Architecture is the mirror of every historical
moment, we can see our time reflex on the
buildings of our cities.“
Daniele del Nero
25. Architectural Identity
• Architectural identity should not be imposed
on people and buildings.
• It is a result of what people “think and do”
during a particular period of history
influenced by economic, ecologic and cultural
variables.
28. Beginning!
• Success can only be achieved through
increasing awareness and facilitating public
participation in urban and architectural
decision making.