De skatevriendelijke stad heeft de toekomst. Wereldwijd nemen gemeenten urban sports steeds concreter op in hun stadsontwikkeling. Andersom vindt die toenadering ook plaats. In plaats van een... Show moreDe skatevriendelijke stad heeft de toekomst. Wereldwijd nemen gemeenten urban sports steeds concreter op in hun stadsontwikkeling. Andersom vindt die toenadering ook plaats. In plaats van een strijd om ruimte of een tegendraadse houding, doet een groeiende groep skaters voorstellen om de openbare ruimte te verbeteren. Eigenlijk heel logisch: onder skaters bevinden zich ook architecten, beleidsmakers, docenten en onderzoekers. In dit artikel belicht ik drie steden waarin deze nieuwe samenwerking leidt tot skateplekken die positief bijdragen aan de openbare ruimte. Show less
The 500th anniversary of the cultural patron and literary figure of the later Timurid period Mir Niẓām al-Dīn ʿAli Shīr Navāʾī (844–906 AH/AD 1441–1501; at present also Alisher Navaʾi, Alisher... Show moreThe 500th anniversary of the cultural patron and literary figure of the later Timurid period Mir Niẓām al-Dīn ʿAli Shīr Navāʾī (844–906 AH/AD 1441–1501; at present also Alisher Navaʾi, Alisher Navoi, hereafter:) was scheduled for 1941. As early as 1937, a special committee for the Alisher Navoi Jubilee was created in Tashkent. At the same time, another committee was organized under the Soviet Writers’ Union in Moscow, which oversaw preparations for union-level writers’ tributes, commemorative events and publications in Russia. The Tashkent Alisher Navoi Jubilee Committee involved prominent Russian and Uzbek scholars, writers such as Ṣadr al-Dīn ʿAynī (1878–1954; hereafter Sadriddin Ayni), and artists, as well as cultural administrators and political leaders including the then-First Secretary of the Uzbek Communist Party Usman Yusupovich Yusupov (1901–1966).1 In 1938 the Communist Party of the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic (UzSSR) acquired an official approval from the Soviet People’s Commissariat and the Central Committee of the Soviet Communist Party to celebrate the 500th birthday of the “Great Uzbek poet, Alisher Navaʾi” at the end of 1941.2 However, the actual jubilee was postponed due to the breakout of the Second World War and it subsequently took place in 1948.3The purpose of the celebrations was to offer a new narrative about the progressive potential of the Central Asian peoples and to remind all Soviet citizens that Central Asia had a rich cultural heritage and was not a remote region inhabited by illiterate nomads. In particular the ancient city of Samarqand had a thriving sedentary culture, sophisticated architectural traditions and an influential scientific elite.4The choice of local historical figures was undoubtedly prompted by the Soviet policies of indigenization (korenizatsiia) according to which every titular nationality within the Soviet Union should be governed by its own people.5 Furthermore, the local Soviet citizens had the right to education and cultural development in their own language. In that aspect the literary legacy of Navoi was branded as formative since his poetic oeuvre was composed in Chaghatay, a language regarded as the precursor of modern Uzbek. According to the Russian orientalist Aleksandr Iur’evich Iakubovskii (1886–1953), the “ingenious Navoi” (genial’nyi Navoi)6 was the cultured predecessor of all Uzbeks. The literary importance of Navoi as the “ancestor” (rodonachal’nik)7 of Uzbek literature and “founder” (osnovopolozhnik)8 of the Uzbek language has been widely examined.9 My study will focus on the two archaeological expeditions that took place in Samarqand in the summer of 1941 under the aegis of the Alisher Navoi Jubilee, and on the ways in which they have shaped our knowledge and understanding of the Timurids, and their propaganda value for the Soviet regime.Before I proceed with the archaeological excavations, I would like to point out that the date for the jubilee was not defined by the lunar Hijra or the solar Jalali calendars used in Navoi’s lifetime. In 1941 the 500th birthday anniversary was calculated based on the Gregorian year 1441. The Gregorian calendar was introduced on the territories under Soviet-control by a decree of the Council of People’s Commissars of the Soviet Union (Sovnarkom) in 1918. The calendar was officially adopted by the Uzbek SSR after its proclamation in November 1924. However, double dating in both Hijra and Gregorian formats was still common practice for example in endowment (waqf) deeds of the Bukharan SSR (1920–1924), which were officially managed by the central Soviet administration while relying on local Islamic judiciary.10 By the late 1930s the Gregorian calendar was widely embraced across the Soviet Union. In line with the atheistic propaganda, the choice of the date by the specially appointed Jubilee Committee may have been a clear sign of the ideological break with the Islamic daily routine and prayers under the Soviet regime. The Hijra calendar was used up until the 1930s not only to record time but to organize religious activities throughout the day across Central Asia.Firstly, I will outline the historical context surrounding the commemorative 500th Jubilee of Alisher Navoi in 1941 and the political narrative that prompted excavations by two archaeological teams in Samarqand.11 Based on the their findings, kept at several Uzbek museums and archives,12 I will discuss the opening of the tombs of Timur and Ulugh Beg in the dynastic mausoleum of Gūr-i Amīr (ca. 1400–1440s) by the first team. Afterwards I will describe the architecture of the China pavilion (chīnīkhāna) of Ulugh Beg (ca. 1420s) by using drawings and archaeological reports from 1941 compiled by the second team. Unfortunately, the abundance of archaeological materials excavated around these two Timurid sites have been partially lost due to successive restorations after the Second World War or remain unpublished. The purpose of this article is to present the archaeological findings to the wider public and to contextualize as much as possible the role of the jubilee in promoting not so much the literary figure of Alisher Navoi but in elevating Ulugh Beg as one of the most educated men of his time, a sedentary statesman, scholar and diplomat. Given the limited scope of the text, I analyse exclusively Samarqand in 1941 and not the actual commemorative festivities of the Navoi Jubilee in 1948. Show less
De Italiaanse overheersing (1912-1943) zorgde voor een grondige transformatie van de Dodekánisos. Er werden tal van infrastructurele werken ondernomen en verschillende hoofdplaatsen, in het... Show moreDe Italiaanse overheersing (1912-1943) zorgde voor een grondige transformatie van de Dodekánisos. Er werden tal van infrastructurele werken ondernomen en verschillende hoofdplaatsen, in het bijzonder Rodos-stad, kregen een stedenbouwkundige ‘make over’ naar fascistisch model. De Possedimenti Italiani dell’Egeo fungeerden als propagandistisch schouwtoneel dat Benito Mussolini en de zijnen internationaal aanzien moest verschaffen. De voornaamste functie van de koloniale bezittingen was en bleef echter militair-strategisch van aard. Nergens was dat zo duidelijk als op Leros, het eiland dat uitgroeide tot een militaire superbasis. Show less
The civilizations of ancient China and Mesoamerica, although not historically related and obviously different in many specific aspects (such as language and writing), show many interesting... Show moreThe civilizations of ancient China and Mesoamerica, although not historically related and obviously different in many specific aspects (such as language and writing), show many interesting commonalities and similar tendencies in their cultural manifestations. The aim of this thesis is to examine the validity of contemporary cosmological interpretations of architecture and related visual art in both regions.In comparing the cosmological characteristics and the performance in the architecture of ancient China and Mesoamerica this thesis has a multidisciplinary focus (considering architecture, archeology, astronomy, history and anthropology). Through comparison, it is found that the two have many similarities in their cosmological theory: they have similar azimuth characteristics (associated with colors, directional gods, seasons, life and death, etc.), their buildings are rich in space orientation; they both have Three Realms (Heaven, Earth, Underworld) and a similar life and death concept, especially they all worship their ancestors; furthermore, they use a similar Calendar Round in their respective calendars. In the performance of architecture, they use their own methods to integrate the concept of cosmology into architectural creation, which makes their architecture establish connections among the cosmos, gods, and time. Show less
Boonstra, S.; Blom, K. van der; Hofmeyer, H.; Emmerich, M.T.M. 2021
Three methods for early-stage building spatial design optimization are presented, demonstrated, and compared for their qualities and limitations. The first, an evolutionary algorithm, can find well... Show moreThree methods for early-stage building spatial design optimization are presented, demonstrated, and compared for their qualities and limitations. The first, an evolutionary algorithm, can find well-distributed approximations of the Pareto front, but it uses many design evaluations and it can only explore a limited part of the entire design search space (i.e. the collection of all possible design solutions). The second, simulations of co-evolutionary design processes, can find improved design solutions relatively fast within an unrestricted design search space, however, they typically only find discretely distributed Pareto front approximations. For the third method, hybridization is proposed to combine the first two methods into two new hybrid methods, such that their advantages are combined and their disadvantages are diminished. The methods have been applied in an initial case study, which shows that hybridization can improve search efficiency and speed, and it can search larger design search spaces. Show less
Unlike most city histories, this book focuses exclusively on the city’s connections with colonialism and slavery. Rotterdam, the second-largest Dutch city, is one of Europe’s leading ports. Its... Show moreUnlike most city histories, this book focuses exclusively on the city’s connections with colonialism and slavery. Rotterdam, the second-largest Dutch city, is one of Europe’s leading ports. Its maritime expansion was intrinsically linked to Dutch colonialism, including slave trading and colonial slavery in the Americas, Africa and Asia. This painful history sits uneasily with the city’s modern cosmopolitan image and its large population of ‘new Rotterdammers’ with colonial roots. The present volume provides a summary of the research that has documented this history, with chapters on the contribution of colonial trade to economic development; the city’s involvement in slavery; the role of the urban political elites; the impact on urban development and architecture; the ‘ethical impulse’; colonial art and ethnographic collections; colonial and postcolonial migration; and finally the resonance of this history in postcolonial Rotterdam. Show less
We invite you to join us on a walk through the newsroom of a regional newspaper, Dagblad van het Noorden. We trace how the journalists perceive, articulate, engage, embrace, challenge, are... Show moreWe invite you to join us on a walk through the newsroom of a regional newspaper, Dagblad van het Noorden. We trace how the journalists perceive, articulate, engage, embrace, challenge, are receptive to, and give form to the ‘atmospheres’ of their workspace. The concept of atmospheres is central in how we have looked at the newsroom. On this walk, we explore the spatial, socio-cultural, rhythmic, tonal, and somatic characteristics of the recently redesigned newsroom, using video, sound, text, and drawing. Employing artistic methods, we want to let you experience this newsroom together with us – giving you insight into the journalists’ lived experience of their profession as fundamentally interwoven with the idiosyncrasies of their workspace. Our host on the walk is online news editor Alfred Meester. Alfred walked us, Saskia and Sander, through the newsroom, which we visited as part of the project Exploring Journalism’s Limits (funded by the Dutch Research Council, NWO, project number: 314-99-205). Also joining us on this day is Ricky Booms, a visual artist invited to reflect on the space alongside us. Along the way, we encounter visual editors, interns, freelancers, editorial staff writers, and learn about the kinds of spaces that resonate with them. The walk takes approximately 45 minutes. Show less
The interest in the built environment of Early Bronze Age Eastern Arabia is rapidly increasing with the emergence of new field data from the excavation of settlement sites. However, little is known... Show moreThe interest in the built environment of Early Bronze Age Eastern Arabia is rapidly increasing with the emergence of new field data from the excavation of settlement sites. However, little is known about architectural planning and spatial patterns in the region. This article explores non-monumental architecture throughout the 3rd millennium BCE.A series of methods (Pythagorean triples, modular grids, interception of circles) were used to assess the geometric and metric characteristics of buildings, and to stress regularities and variation in the long term. The results of these analyses suggest the application of specific techniques in layout and construction works: the intersection of circles during the Hafit occupations, and more sophisticated techniques, combining the properties of circles and triangles, during the Umm an-Nar period.The diachronic approach allowed by the temporal span of the occupations highlights a firm progression of architectural paradigms and building crafts throughout the EBA. The evidence hints at the existence of specialized work force since the dawn of the Bronze Age, and reveals a sharp increase of technicity and standardization towards the end of the 3rd millennium. Show less
Liefde voor de Hollandse bouwkunst (A love of Dutch architecture) studies and discusses the publications produced by the Amsterdam publishing house Kosmos on architecture and applied art in the... Show moreLiefde voor de Hollandse bouwkunst (A love of Dutch architecture) studies and discusses the publications produced by the Amsterdam publishing house Kosmos on architecture and applied art in the period between 1923, when the firm was founded, and 1960. The man responsible throughout this period was Jacobus (Jac.) van der Kolk (1887-1980). Van der Kolk began his career in 1916 in the technical bookshop of Weduwe J. Ahrend & Zoon, a supplier of drafting and office equipment founded in 1896 by Jacobus Ahrend. Two years later he was promoted to head of Ahrend’s technical publishing department, which had been founded in 1904. In 1923 the Ahrend catalogue became that of Kosmos, with Van der Kolk being made director of the new firm.The research questions emerged after drawing up as complete a catalogue as possible. The subsequent analysis was aimed at gaining an understanding of Kosmos’s publishing programme, which aspects of it were stressed and how the various segments of the catalogue developed. The most important question, the one underlying this study as a whole, concerns the circumstances, working methods and decisions that produced the Kosmos catalogue in the years 1923-1960, and how Kosmos rated in the competition with other publishers operating in the same fields Show less
This thesis traces and analyses the evolution of domestic space in Maltese vernacular and ‘polite’ houses from the medieval to contemporary times. The houses under study range from humble... Show more This thesis traces and analyses the evolution of domestic space in Maltese vernacular and ‘polite’ houses from the medieval to contemporary times. The houses under study range from humble buildings of modest size, materials and design, like farmhouses or those for the less affluent town-dwellers, to buildings of grand design, like townhouses and palazzi. Owing to the complex nature of the Maltese houses a combination of enquires and a variety of sources was necessary to achieve a holistic picture. This included fieldwork in different parts of the islands, extensive research work in local archives, libraries and museums, an analysis of a sample of literary sources, national censuses and works-of-art, as well as methods of spatial analysis (Space Syntax). Show less
This book gives a survey of the career of the Renaissance antiquary Jacopo Strada (Mantua 1515- Vienna 1588). Aspects discussed include his background, education and artistic training; his early... Show moreThis book gives a survey of the career of the Renaissance antiquary Jacopo Strada (Mantua 1515- Vienna 1588). Aspects discussed include his background, education and artistic training; his early activities in Germany; his trips to Lyon and Rome and the origins of his huge collection of visual documentation of Antiquity and of canonical modern works of art; and his appointment as architect and antiquary to Emperors Ferdinand I and Maximilian II. The second part discusses Strada’s activities as architect and his share in projects of his imperial patrons in Vienna, the Munich Antiquarium, his own house and for private patrons. The third part discusses Strada’s role in purveying antiques and works of art for his patrons, contents and function of his own collection or “Musaeum”, and his ambition to set up as an international publisher. The conclusion first defines Strada’s self-image as an antiquary; applying some of the terms of Everett Rogers’ theory of the diffusion of innovations, it then demonstrates how, and to what extent, Strada’s activities and the presence of his "Musaeum" in Vienna contributed to the acceptance of the ideas and the artistic idiom of the Italian High Renaissance to the north of the Alps. Show less
Het Haagse Binnenhof is tegenwoordig een vanzelfsprekendheid. Er gaat geen dag voorbij dat de vergaderzaal van de Tweede Kamer, de Ridderzaal en de gebouwen langs de Hofvijver niet in de media te... Show moreHet Haagse Binnenhof is tegenwoordig een vanzelfsprekendheid. Er gaat geen dag voorbij dat de vergaderzaal van de Tweede Kamer, de Ridderzaal en de gebouwen langs de Hofvijver niet in de media te zien zijn en plaatsen als het Torentje, de Trêveszaal of Nieuwspoort zijn inmiddels begrippen op zich. Een nationale overheid in Nederland zonder ‘politiek Den Haag’ is dan ook nauwelijks meer voor te stellen. Toch is het historische Binnenhof als zetel van regering en parlement de voorbije eeuwen niet altijd onomstreden geweest. Gedurende de negentiende en twintigste eeuw stond de huisvesting van de belangrijkste politieke organen van ons land vrijwel voortdurend ter discussie. Plannen om het regeringscentrum te verplaatsen, de voormalige grafelijke residentie tot de grond toe af te breken en te vervangen door grootschalige nieuwbouw bleven echter grotendeels onuitgevoerd. In dit boek laat historicus Diederik Smit aan de hand van een analyse van bovengenoemde discussies zien hoe het Binnenhof in voorbije tweehonderd jaar kon uitgroeien tot hét politieke centrum van het land: van een vervallen en verlaten complex tot het hart van de Nederlandse democratie. Show less
In the Counter Reformation, art and architecture are often attributed a central role in such a process of persuasion. Recent historical studies, however, have emphasized the intense fear of God... Show moreIn the Counter Reformation, art and architecture are often attributed a central role in such a process of persuasion. Recent historical studies, however, have emphasized the intense fear of God that held Early Modern society in its grip, leading to a revision of the traditional view of the Counter Reformation as a top-down process. This revision has important implications for the history of art, as it challenges us to reconsider the notion of religious art and architecture during the Counter Reformation as rhetorical “propaganda”. In the present dissertation I approach the religious art patronage in the Catholic South from a perspective informed by recent developments in ethnography and anthropology. I propose to redefine the “baroque piety” of religious patronage that generated works of art and architecture not as a strategy to persuade (in a rhetorical way), but to negotiate with the divine in a continuous process of reconciliation, aiming to regain divine grace. Put in anthropological terms, works of art served as ritual interfaces to enter into negotiation with the divine. This negotiation with God took place within networks of social relations (nexuses) in which art and architecture functioned as agents of change Show less
De stad Zutphen is een van de oudste steden van Nederland. De site representeert niet alleen een stadskern van regionaal en nationaal belang. Door de historische context en archeologische... Show moreDe stad Zutphen is een van de oudste steden van Nederland. De site representeert niet alleen een stadskern van regionaal en nationaal belang. Door de historische context en archeologische verschijningsvorm moet de vindplaats Zutphen van internationaal belang worden geacht. Sinds 2002 heeft het plein 's-Gravenhof de status van archeologisch rijksmonument. De komende decennia zullen uit opgravingen weinig nieuwe gegevens beschikbaar komen. Daarom was het een geschikt moment om alle beschikbare gegevens uit oud onderzoek toegankelijk te maken en te analyseren. De bij de uitwerking betrokken onderzoeken zijn de opgravingen op het plein 's-Gravenhof in 1946 en 1999, de opgravingen tijdens de restauratie van Huize van de Kasteele in 1993 - 1995 en de opgravingen in de historische kelders en de bouwput van het nieuwe stadhuis (1996-1997). De opgravingen zijn nu uitgewerkt en er zijn tal van deelonderzoeken uitgevoerd (uitvoerig zoölogisch onderzoek, 14C-dateringen, analyse van de structuren in de opgraving Zutphen-Stadhuis, grondradaronderzoek op het plein). In de publicatie wordt uitvoerig aandacht besteed aan de analyse en interpretatie van de sporen en vondsten, maar ook de historische context waarin deze geplaatst moeten worden. De nadruk in het onderzoek ligt op de periode 850 tot 1200 AD. Vooral de beschrijving, fasering en datering van de resten van een grote tufstenen aula staan centraal. Dat heeft geresulteerd in een nieuwe reconstructie van het imposante romaanse gebouw. De belangrijkste vraag betreft de status van de site Zutphen: was het een koningspalts of niet? En wie liet het tufstenen complex bouwen? En waarom? Show less
The rediscovery of the Greek-Doric temples in South-Italian Paestum caused a great stir in eighteenth-century architectural thought and turned existing ideas on classical architecture upside down.... Show moreThe rediscovery of the Greek-Doric temples in South-Italian Paestum caused a great stir in eighteenth-century architectural thought and turned existing ideas on classical architecture upside down. More than any other ancient site Paestum came to fascinate architects, artists, writers and tourists, who represented the temples in drawings, engravings, texts or publications in a complex and paradoxical way, showing the developments in architectural thought from the cautious and exploratory rediscovery of the site to a general and strong consensus about the value of the temples. The site made it possible to question many subjects that were important in architectural, aesthetic and artistic debates in England, France and Italy. I argue that this becomes understandable through the analysis of architectural experience, a major theme in the eighteenth century. In studying the experiences in situ the dissertation reconstructs Paestum’s key role in the debates, with as main issues the sublime and the picturesque, primitivism and the origins of architecture, changing ideas on cultural meaning, and classical architecture and its role and historiography. The interactions between architectural experience and architectural theory demonstrate that Paestum functioned as a focus and laboratory for the growing importance of science and history in eighteenth-century architectural thought. Show less
This book is a study of Dutch mosque designs, objects of heated public debate. Until now, studies of diaspora mosque designs have largely consisted of normative architectural critiques that reject... Show moreThis book is a study of Dutch mosque designs, objects of heated public debate. Until now, studies of diaspora mosque designs have largely consisted of normative architectural critiques that reject the ubiquitous ‘domes and minarets’ as hampering further Islamic-architectural evolution. The Architectural Representation of Islam: Muslim-Commissioned Mosque Design in The Netherlands represents a clear break with the architectural critical narrative, and meticulously analyzes twelve design processes for Dutch mosques. It shows that patrons, by consciously selecting, steering and replacing their architects, have much more influence on their mosques than has been generally assumed. Through the careful transformation of specific building elements from Islamic architectural history to a new context, they literally aim to ‘construct’ the ultimate Islam. Their designs thus evolve not in opposition to Dutch society, but to those versions of Islam that they hold to be false. Show less
