Research

OF TRADITIONAL BUILDING METHODS AND CULTURAL DESIGN PATTERNS

PROGRAM DESIGN-BASED DOCTORATE,
TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY OF BERLIN
SINCE 2021

This research shows three built projects that have one aspect in common: The emergence in intercultural collaboration with the combination of university-learned theories in Germany and site-appropriate, culturally determined practices from Zimbabwe. The project involves the construction of a primary school, a borehole and an event pavilion in Harare, Zimbabwe. All projects are planned in a German context and built in a Zimbabwean environment. Many years of planning and construction allow a deep insight into the influence of local Zimbabwean elements on the design of the architecture. By adapting details during the construction phases, traditional Zimbabwean elements that are culturally anchored have found their way into the realisation of the projects. The aim of the research work is to identify and explicate this influence. 

The theoretical contextualization defines the research topic in relation to the concepts of culture and tradition. The practical contextualization shows how other architects with comparable design and construction projects in an intercultural environment deal with the concept of culture. 

The contextualizations lead to the design-based part of the research thesis. Using the method of Design Research, this forms the catalog of interrelationships, which on one hand elaborates the project histories – as a drawing comparison of locally common, planned and implemented construction methods. On the other hand, the results of the drawings are transferred to a new implementation object using the method of Research- by-Design. A new design will be developed for an exhibition building in the Harare region. 

The result is a design that is strongly engaged with the influences found on site, which can be traced back to cultural practices. These are made visible through intensive engagement during a stay at the project site and transferred into the design process through the formulated, culturally determined design parameters. The transfer forms the conclusion of the culture-based design presented here within the framework of design-based research. 

Technical University of Berlin, Program Design-based Doctorate