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The paper attempts to study architecture as an esthetic object with the use of mobile methods. I develop the concept of the flâneur view: an act of perception associated with a casual walk, enriched with reflections on the environment. The aim of the text is to describe the intricacies of the process: what makes the flâneur interested in particular architectural object, how one valorizes it, and what role the esthetics plays in the activity. This research walk was carried out by students in the Rzeszów Downtown. It included observation, taking notes, and photography. For the purpose of the paper, I analyze thirteen journals. The main finding is that students value visual and spatial harmony, and look for it in the cityscape. They are positive toward well-maintained, mostly historical buildings. Nature is also important to them. In their descriptions, they use everyday language and their type of esthetic reception can be named non-professional.

In a general sense, architecture and technology articulate two modes of evaluation of objects and built environments; however, are there conditions that allow us to consider architectural works as technologies? This paper explores this possibility by analyzing bibliographic, documentary, and planimetric information on housing blocks developed by the state agency, Corporación de la Vivienda (CORVI), between 1953 and 1974. Using Process Tracing as a method of analysis, milestones were identified that showed the ways in which the design and production of this typology were influenced by a regime of values based on the idea of rationalization, and that the heterogeneity of its cases showed flexibility and adaptation to the ways of calculating and realizing this value. The conclusions address the causality observed between value and typology in this case, and suggest that this behavior expresses a technological condition of architecture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Architectural ruins in the context of the urban landscape carry many meanings and functions: they reflect changes in fashion, security, cultural values, and show the peculiar struggle of urbanization and the “recapture” of abandoned places by plants and animals. The article offers an analysis of the perception of architectural ruins in modern urban everyday life. Conceptualization is built through such functions and properties of urban ruins as providing a symbolic refuge for representatives of certain groups and symbolizing cultural trauma, i.e. trauma of a social group bound by a common culture and solidarity Based on the observations, the authors describe two cases: the ruins of the unfinished military camp “Olgino” in St. Petersburg and the ruins of the “Enthusiast” cinema in Moscow. Some recommendations are provided for researchers interested in studying urban ruins.

ABSTRACTIn a general sense, architecture and technology articulate two modes of evaluation of objects and built environments; however, are there conditions that allow us to consider architectural works as technologies? This paper explores this possibility by analyzing bibliographic, documentary, and planimetric information on housing blocks developed by the state agency, Corporación de la Vivienda (CORVI), between 1953 and 1974. Using Process Tracing as a method of analysis, milestones were identified that showed the ways in which the design and production of this typology were influenced by a regime of values based on the idea of rationalization, and that the heterogeneity of its cases showed flexibility and adaptation to the ways of calculating and realizing this value. The conclusions address the causality observed between value and typology in this case, and suggest that this behavior expresses a technological condition of architecture.

Our study explores the question: what kind of landscape situations emerge between the urban fabric and a school building as a result of 21st-century suburbanisation? To answer this question, we will compare a traditional school town and a suburban settlement. Located less than thirty kilometres from Budapest, the traditional town is Vác, one of the most important historical school towns in Hungary. Dunakeszi, on the other hand, directly borders the capital and was a rural settlement at the beginning of the 20th century. This settlement is a typical example of urban sprawl. Its schools have occupied a place in the urban fabric since the second half of the 20th century. During our research, we used thick description and thoroughly analysed where the buildings are situated within the given urban structure, how their appearance can be described, and what their architecture communicates. Our basic argument is that while traditional settlement schools are a central element of the urban fabric, in the suburbs, schools occupy empty spaces of 'leftover plots' or develop new campuses in the interurban landscape. The results showed that regardless of the historical past of a given settlement, 21st-century educational institutions create separated, closed campuses in areas affected by suburbanisation processes. The primary reason for moving out is simply a lack of space in downtown areas, which is universally apparent in larger cities. The various roles and tasks schools fulfil also contribute to the process, for example the integration of sports fields or the increasing expectation to be accessible by car. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-rise buildings have been experiencing a significant boom worldwide over the past two decades. This is true not least for European cities, where church steeples, town hall towers, and chimneys were the main vertical accents in city centers for a long time. This article focuses on the construction of high-rise buildings as a “glocal” phenomenon. The vertical building type has spread around the world, but approaches to it are site-specific and inextricably entangled with local problems, modes of action, and discourses. Construction strategies and discussions about tall buildings are quite diverse even in Europe alone. Presenting case studies of Paris, London, and Vienna, this article looks at three metropolises in which vertical building has caused particular unrest in recent years and reveals enlightening contrasts between them. In exploring the question of how distinctions are made in these cities between desirable and quasi-illegitimate buildings, or “possible” and “impossible” locations, I analyze city-specific patterns relating to vertical construction. Special attention is paid to urban planning—the activities of those actors who are responsible for developing strategies and implementing and concretizing legal regulations. The discussion draws on a larger research project and is based on the grounded theory research perspective. The data pool includes a large number of published and unpublished documents as well as interviews with actors from the fields of urban planning, architecture, and historic preservation. From a theoretical point of view, the article draws on reflections on the “specificity of cities” and “glocalization” in urban research.

Our study explores the question: what kind of landscape situations emerge between the urban fabric and a school building as a result of 21st-century suburbanisation? To answer this question, we will compare a traditional school town and a suburban settlement. Located less than thirty kilometres from Budapest, the traditional town is Vác, one of the most important historical school towns in Hungary. Dunakeszi, on the other hand, directly borders the capital and was a rural settlement at the beginning of the 20th century. This settlement is a typical example of urban sprawl. Its schools have occupied a place in the urban fabric since the second half of the 20th century. During our research, we used thick description and thoroughly analysed where the buildings are situated within the given urban structure, how their appearance can be described, and what their architecture communicates. Our basic argument is that while traditional settlement schools are a central element of the urban fabric, in the suburbs, schools occupy empty spaces of ‘leftover plots’ or develop new campuses in the interurban landscape. The results showed that regardless of the historical past of a given settlement, 21st-century educational institutions create separated, closed campuses in areas affected by suburbanisation processes. The primary reason for moving out is simply a lack of space in downtown areas, which is universally apparent in larger cities. The various roles and tasks schools fulfil also contribute to the process, for example the integration of sports fields or the increasing expectation to be accessible by car.