This thesis examines to what extent the principles of Art Nouveau can be found in the music of Claude Debussy after 1890, and whether this visual art style influenced music from that period. Art Nouveau is commonly understood as strictly a visual art style and is not often connected to other artistic disciplines of that time period. Claude Debussy is a composer often associated with Symbolism and Impressionism, known for his music in the same time period as the Art Nouveau movement.

By analysing existing literature on the key characteristics of both Art Nouveau and Claude Debussy’s musical language, a basis for comparison is established. This comparison is then supported by a case study of two of Debussy’s works, alongside an analysis of two letters clarifying his views on musical composition.

The study identifies three key similarities: a blurred distinction between structure and decoration, a preference for organic forms, and an emphasis on atmosphere and suggestion. In the end, no evidence is found that indicates a direct influence of Art Nouveau on Claude Debussy. However, the shared principles do suggest a similar cultural environment and show how interconnected the arts of the fin-de-siècle period truly were. ... Read more

This research examines the urban disparities within Rotterdam West, focusing on how policies and socio-economic factors have shaped street- level differences from around 1850 to 2025. The main question guiding this study is: ‘Which key urban, political, and socio-economic developments have contributed to the disparities found between Rotterdam West’s streetscapes? Through historical analysis, field observations and policy review, the research explores the evolution of “livability” in the area, including the impact of urban renewal projects and policies such as the Rotterdamwet and Krachtwijkenbeleid. The findings show that while some streets benefited from selective renovations, others remained neglected, leading to significant contrasts in spatial structure, safety and social cohesion. Gentrification and superdiversity also played pivotal roles in shaping the neighbourhood’s development. Initiaves like Stichting Boulevard highlight how diverse communities can collaborate to improve local spaces. The study concludes that a long-term, street-level and context-aware approach to urban planning is needed to address the inequalities in West. Further research is required to understand the true impact of these interventions and to devise more inclusive, sustainable urban strategies. ... Read more

Architecture is a blend between art and science. It is a science and very rational in the way that the design solution has to work logically, structurally and rationally in terms of the organisation of space in relation to its function. There are many different design solutions to an architectural brief and the creative nature of working on the different rationally viable solutions is where the practice of architecture addresses the intangible and artistic side of the discipline. This nature of architecture being constrained to the functionality and pragmatism of spatial layout and structure is partially why Arthur Schopenhauer considered architecture as the lowest form of art in terms of his hierarchy of expression of the will.
This condition can be viewed as a constraint and disadvantage, but it is also what makes architecture powerful. Architecture as art takes initiative and is active. A viewer always has expectations and has to make a specific conscious choice of wanting to go see a painting or listening to music, but with architecture, when it is well designed and all its factors and elements works in harmony, the viewer encounters it without expectations and is directly immersed in it, experiencing it; Architecture’s medium of expression is space itself.
This form of expression ranges from something as simple as a well-designed space to spaces that evoke feelings associated with the sublime. Achieving the upper bounds of this range in architecture will be the main focus of this paper. At what point does a brick become a wall? At what point does an arrangement of walls become something that is sacred? Where does the transition happen? All of these questions are relevant to the aim of paper.
This paper aims to investigate how architecture creates ineffable spaces - using materials that are very much of this world to create something that is intangible. A closer look will be taken at religious spaces, specifically Le Corbusier’s 3 churches: Ronchamp Chapel, La Tourette, and Firminy Vert. The main focus was chosen because religious spaces in architecture has a special requirement not to only function well, but to also be a place fit to be an homage to god. The church, in theory, acts as a mediator between heaven and earth; it acts as a liminal space. This requirement to be sacred makes it a fitting typology to study for the paper. Other liminal spaces in architecture such as funerary architecture and ritual spaces in history will also be looked at and compared to the churches.
In order to achieve the aim of the paper, a literature study will be done. Sacred Concrete by Inge Linder-Galliard & Flora Samuel will be serve as the background and give context to the architectural intentions of Le Corbusier’s churches. Poetics of Space by Gaston Bachelard, The Eyes of the Skin by Juhani Pallasmaa and Atmospheres by Peter Zumthor will be used as reference to understand how users perceive and understand space. Poetics of Space specifically talks from a psychological angle on experiencing and perceiving architecture, touching on memory and associations people make when experiencing space. Having also had visited the churches I will incorporate personal accounts of what experiencing the buildings were actually like. Images taken by myself of the buildings will also be incorporated on the paper to be used for analysis of the space, light, architecture, etc. This visual analysis alongside with orthogonal drawings of the building will then be investigated through the lens of Bachelard’s, Zumthor’s and Pallasmaa’s ideas with the aim of finding the distinctiveness or at least identify contributing elements that makes religious architecture successfully befit as a liminal space mediating heaven and earth.
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Religion is in decline and spirituality starts to take on a more prominent role instead. Although there are abundant religious spaces, this shift did not cause a development in architecture yet. Libraries have similar qualities to religious spaces, like the sense of community and the feeling of retreat, so it is interesting to research how this typology can support spirituality. The Ets Haim library is the oldest Jewish library in the world and was founded to rediscover the Jewish identity of converted Jews who fled Spain and Portugal. This study aims to dissect the palimpsest of this library for a better understanding of the physical representation of spirituality by answering the question: How does Ets Haim Library support the notion of spirituality? There has been ample of research that addresses the impact of architecture on a transcending experience. Elements like urban context, light, geometry, materials and symbolism stand out as main influences, but it must be mentioned that spirituality is a subjective concept and it cannot be confined to a list of elements or a design manual. After a comprehensive analysis, it became clear that the Ets Haim supports spirituality by immaterial values like history, community and knowledge and material elements like geometry, light, colour and above that the book as a symbol. ... Read more

This paper studies the color application in architecture during the 20th century by Le Corbusier and Luis Barragan through a thorough analysis of case studies such as Cité Frugès, Unité d’Habitation, Casa Gilardi, and the Chapel for the Capuchinas, as well as relevant literature reviews. It then explores how color affects users’ perception of a space from a psychological aspect through Goethe’s color theory (1810) and the Ecological Valence Theory (2010). Factors that affect how people perceive color are also discussed. Finally, the paper focuses on the application of color in educational settings and discusses the impact of color. This paper aims to analyze and draw inspiration from Le Corbusier and Luis Barragan’s color application approaches to apply them in educational spaces and emphasize the importance of color in educational settings. ... Read more

Modernity in India was born as a response to the practical need for infrastructure in the post-independence (1947) period. Locally produced concrete became the primary material for building, displaying India’s self-sufficiency and construction prowess. Local and international architects used concrete by adopting the prevailing global trends of modernist architecture, modified to serve in the context of India.

However, in the present socio-political environment in India, the architecture of the national capital, New Delhi, is being rebranded and transformed by the current government, under the guise of creating a ‘new modern identity’. This exercise, strengthened by legal loopholes and the lack of laws on conservation of contemporary architecture, has put the entire modern movement of India at risk. Several structures, which represented independent India’s socio-cultural identity for decades, now face the imminent threat of demolition.

This paper analyses the unfortunate fate of the Hall of Nations of New Delhi, which was built in 1972 using locally produced concrete and intensive manual labour, a structural marvel of its time. It was imprudently demolished in 2017 to pave the way for a new ‘world class exhibition centre’, erasing the legacy of self-sufficient India by seeking global investments and international designs. A study of the events leading to the demolition reveals the alarming lack of organisation within decision making authorities, and their unwillingness to recognise the importance of modern heritage of the city. ... Read more

When looking into the delicate relationship between Aldo Rossi’s theoretical drawings and their implementations in reality, one would always find it fascinating that his projects that were expressive and vibrant on paper oftentimes were built and perceived in a completely different way. For all kinds of reasons, his projects were sometimes not completely built or built differently from his original intention. Architecture historians analyzed the reasons behind these unsuccessful implementations, whether they were caused by the fundamental design ideas or just came from reality issues. By studying this topic, it would be helpful for architects who tried to design in similar forms to better understand the elements that are essential for a faithful implementation of the original design. ... Read more

During thirty years of independent Lithuania, numerous iconic modern and postmodern buildings from the Soviet period had been demolished. Only in recent years architects and preservationists have started to protest and communicate the message of opposition to such activities but in most cases, it is too late to save an artifice.
In the rich field of architectural edifices of social modernism, resort architecture is particularly interesting. It can be stated that it was in the resorts that some of the most original and valuable structures of socialist modernism were erected in Lithuania. In theory it should be regarded as a niche where true Lithuanian architecture could have emerged through the limitations of Soviet apparatus, however it is surprising to see this sort of architecture neglected or demolished.

Knowing that architecture makes up a large part of the regional identity, demolition of unique recreational buildings can lead to irretrievable loss of existing genius loci. Therefore, my main research question is why and how large number of expressive examples of socialist resort modernist architecture in Lithuania are undesirable?
Is it a matter of economics, considering the prestigious location of most of the remaining resort buildings? Is it because of the inseparable link between politics and architecture? Is it the institution of heritage and conservation failing to protect them? Is collective remembrance being altered when difficult heritage buildings are being demolished?
In addition to the existing discussion within the Lithuanian community about Soviet time heritage preservation, I am considering the unique resort buildings being part of the national identity and as an element of a cultural phenomenon.

In the first chapter I explain historical context and the origin of socialist modernism, prevailing ideological apparatus at the time, significance of resorts and their architecture.
The second chapter consists of investigation what is hiding “behind the scenes” of the ignorance of socialist modernist architecture. In different sections I discuss such architecture in terms of memory, collective remembrance, explain the concept of genius loci, talk about psychological confrontations of the country, elaborate on how heritage preservation is not always applicable in Lithuania and look into economic aspect.
The third chapter addresses two case studies - demolition and renovation of resort buildings. Firstly, I discuss the demolition case of cafe “Banga” (1796; demolished in 2015) in Palanga. Secondly, renovation of café “Vasara”(reconstructed in 2005).
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