Dismantling Culture and System of Settings: A Critical Conceptual Framework for Reading the Built Environment
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32315/jlbi.v15i1.606Keywords:
activity systems, cultural embeddedness, interpretive spatial analysis, socio-spatial translation, vernacular environmentsAbstract
Although culture is widely recognized as shaping the built environment, scholarship often remains descriptive and methodologically unclear about how cultural determinants become spatially manifest and ideologically consequential. Addressing this gap, especially with respect to vernacular settings, this study proposes an integrated framework that couples dismantling culture with the system of settings construct to operationalize culture for spatial reading. Using a conceptual-analytic method (critical literature reading and theoretical synthesis), culture is decomposed into values, norms, lifestyles, and activity systems and aligned with system of settings analysis, which treats environments as ordered relations among space, time, activity, and communication. The framework shows that (1) culture becomes spatially legible through staged translation via activity systems; (2) the system of settings mediates cultural registration across fixed, semi-fixed, and non-fixed features; (3) typologies (vernacular, spontaneous, traditional, modern-formal) differ by cultural embeddedness; and (4) translation is hermeneutic, delimiting possibilities rather than prescribing form. These results provide an interpretive grammar for culturally responsive design and post-occupancy evaluation and motivate subsequent empirical testing through comparative field studies.
Downloads
References
[1] A. Rapoport, Culture, Architecture, and Design. Locke Science Publishing Company, 2005. [Online]. Available: https://books.google.co.id/books?id=ZPJEAAAAYAAJ
[2] R. Kaplan and S. Kaplan, The experience of nature: A psychological perspective. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989.
[3] B. Lawson, The Language of Space. Architectural Press, 2001. [Online]. Available: https://books.google.co.id/books?id=zvWfgUjxjHwC
[4] J. Gehl, Life Between Buildings: Using Public Space, 1st ed. Erscheinungsort nicht ermittelbar: Island Press, 2011.
[5] R. Oldenburg, The Great Good Place: Cafés, Coffee Shops, Bookstores, Bars, Hair Salons, and Other Hangouts at the Heart of a Community. Berkshire Publishing Group, 2023. doi: 10.2307/jj.9561417.
[6] J. E. Malpas, Place and Experience. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge university press, 1999.
[7] C. Figueroa-Martínez, “Walking in Deprived Neighborhoods: Understanding the Role of the Built Environment,” in Springer Geography, vol. Part F168, Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH, 2025, pp. 189–201. doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-76402-8_13.
[8] D. Brodsky and M. M. Shepley, “Comparative Study of the Social Interactions of Two Differently Designed Long-Term Care Facilities for Individuals with Acquired Brain Injury,” Herd Health Environments Research & Design Journal, vol. 13, no. 3, pp. 84–98, 2019, doi: 10.1177/1937586719888847.
[9] Z. Kan, M. Kwan, M. K. Ng, and H. Tieben, “The Impacts of Housing Characteristics and Built-Environment Features on Mental Health,” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, vol. 19, no. 9, p. 5143, 2022, doi: 10.3390/ijerph19095143.
[10] A. H. Jucker et al., “Doing space in face-to-face interaction and on interactive multimodal platforms,” Journal of Pragmatics, vol. 134, pp. 85–101, 2018, doi: 10.1016/j.pragma.2018.07.001.
[11] F. Jacobus, “Toward the Immaterial Interior,” in The Interior Architecture Theory Reader. Taylor & Francis, 2018, pp. 224–233, doi: 10.4324/9781315693002.
[12] A. Zumelzu, M. Estrada, M. Moya, and J. Troppa, “Experiencing Public Spaces in Southern Chile: Analysing the Effects of the Built Environment on Walking Perceptions,” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, vol. 19, no. 19, 2022, doi: 10.3390/ijerph191912577.
[13] E. Talen, “Sense of Community and Neighbourhood Form: An Assessment of the Social Doctrine of New Urbanism,” Urban Studies, vol. 36, no. 8, pp. 1361–1379, July 1999, doi: 10.1080/0042098993033.
[14] M. Aljassar, “Analyzing the transformation of the Kuwaiti house,” in Theorizing Built Form and Culture: The Legacy of Amos Rapoport. Taylor & Francis, 2024, pp. 43–54, doi: 10.4324/9781003372110-3.
[15] J. Simon, “Participation and community: Transcultural perspectives,” in New Directions in Environmental Participation. Taylor & Francis, 2024, pp. 36–49. [Online]. Available: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85206225378&partnerID=40&md5=3bd5132a85915b1e21d42b70a4a90080
[16] Y. Qtaishat, K. Adeyeye, and S. Emmitt, “Eco-Cultural Design Assessment Framework and Tool for Sustainable Housing Schemes,” Urban Science, vol. 4, no. 4, 2020, doi: 10.3390/urbansci4040065.
[17] M. Saatci and D. E. Onder, “Spatial Hierarchy on Vernacular Houses in Eastern Black Sea Region, Turkey,” in Proceedings of the International Space Syntax Symposium, Karimi K., Palaiologou G., Vaughan L., Bolton T., and Sailer K., Eds., London, UK: Space Syntax Laboratory, The Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London, 2015. [Online]. Available: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84959199524&partnerID=40&md5=9486c0e7baa0ab2c395d6d810663e4a6
[18] M. J. Koohsari, A. T. Kaczynski, G. R. Mcormack, and T. Sugiyama, “Using Space Syntax to Assess the Built Environment for Physical Activity: Applications to Research on Parks and Public Open Spaces,” Leisure Sciences, vol. 36, no. 2, pp. 206–216, 2014, doi: 10.1080/01490400.2013.856722.
[19] N. Walford, J. Phillips, A. Hockey, and S. Pratt, “Assessing the Needs of Older People in Urban Settings: Integration of Emotive, Physiological and Built Environment Data,” Geo: Geography and Environment, vol. 4, no. 1, 2017, doi: 10.1002/geo2.37.
[20] N. M. A. Akbar, I. R. Abubakar, and A. S. Bouregh, “Fostering Urban Sustainability Through the Ecological Wisdom of Traditional Settlements,” Sustainability, vol. 12, no. 23, p. 10033, 2020, doi: 10.3390/su122310033.
[21] A. Laz Banti, “Learning from Vernacular Architecture: The Essence of Remakri Area in Bangladesh,” in Sustainable Development Goals Series, vol. Part F2790, Springer, 2024, pp. 279–305. doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-36554-6_19.
[22] S. C. Nissanka, C. Malalgoda, D. Amaratunga, and R. Haigh, “Role of the Built Environment Stakeholders in Climate Change Adaptation,” International Journal of Disaster Resilience in the Built Environment, vol. 15, no. 4, pp. 649–667, 2024, doi: 10.1108/ijdrbe-06-2023-0067.
[23] S. Sharma, “Adaptation of Vernacular Way Forward for Future Urbanisation,” in Potency of the Vernacular Settlements: Recent Scholarships in Vernacular Studies, Taylor & Francis, 2024, pp. 184–204. doi: 10.4324/9781003389002-11.
[24] Y. Chen, “Research on the Impact of Ecological Literature on the Environment and Society—taking Chinese Ecological Literature as an Example,” E3s Web of Conferences, vol. 560, p. 02014, 2024, doi: 10.1051/e3sconf/202456002014.
[25] B. Ray and R. Shaw, “Changing Built Form and Implications on Urban Resilience: Loss of Climate Responsive and Socially Interactive Spaces,” in Procedia Engineering, Amaratunga D. and Haigh R., Eds., Elsevier Ltd, 2018, pp. 117–124. doi: 10.1016/j.proeng.2018.01.016.
[26] X. Zhang and K.-H. Wen, “A Model Process of Integrating Context of Local Culture for Pre-Development Stage in the Design of Cultural and Creative Products—Using Macao’s Historical Buildings as an Example,” Sustainability, vol. 12, no. 15, p. 6263, 2020, doi: 10.3390/su12156263.
[27] A. Rapoport, “Using ‘Culture’ in Housing Design,” Housing and Society, vol. 25, no. 1–2, pp. 1–20, Jan. 1998, doi: 10.1080/08882746.1998.11430282.
[28] A. Rapoport, “Theory, Culture and Housing,” Housing, Theory and Society, vol. 17, no. 4, pp. 145–165, Nov. 2000, doi: 10.1080/140360900300108573.
[29] M. Aljassar, “Analyzing the Transformation of the Kuwaiti House,” in Theorizing Built form and Culture: The Legacy of Amos Rapoport, Taylor & Francis, 2024, pp. 43–54, doi: 10.4324/9781003372110-3.
[30] N. M. Campbell, “Third Place Characteristics in Planned Retirement Community Social Spaces,” Journal of Architectural and Planning Research, vol. 32, no. 1, pp. 55–67, 2015.
[31] C. Figueroa-Martínez, “Walking in Deprived Neighborhoods: Understanding the Role of the Built Environment,” in Springer Geography, vol. Part F168, Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH, 2025, pp. 189–201. doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-76402-8_13.
[32] Y. Deng, M. R. Hu, and A. D. Lee, “Melting Pot or Salad Bowl: Cultural Distance and Housing Investments,” Real Estate Economics, vol. 49, pp. 235–267, 2021, doi: 10.1111/1540-6229.12311.
[33] L. S. Alemu, W. Berhanu, and D. L. Sokkido, “Determinants of Residential Satisfaction: An Actual-Aspiration Gap Theory Analysis in Low-Cost Condominium Housing, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia,” Urban Planning and Transport Research, vol. 13, no. 1, 2025, doi: 10.1080/21650020.2025.2475960.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Susilo Kusdiwanggo
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
