The focus of the research is the concept of context, guidelines for the approach to it, and the ways by which it was regarded in the development of urban environment. The paper defines how these approaches and practices changed during the last century. During the last century, an especially dynamic and turbulent one, Lithuanian state experienced divergent and controversial periods: independence (1918-1940), World War II (1939–1945), Soviet period (1944–1990) and independence restored (1990-present). The paper discusses the Western attitudes and the evolution of approach towards context while dealing with urban environment, and peculiarities of Lithuanian practice in conformity with these attitudes during last century. The theoretic investigation is grounded by the documents formulated and declared by international organisations like CIAM, UNESCO, ICOMOS and others, as accumulations of pioneering thought. Particularly, their statements that consider the surrounding context as basis, principle, or inspiration for the creating, transforming or reconstructing the urban environment are analysed. The term context is used as a generalising term, an umbrella one, which covers several terms used in the documents or literature to define closer or wider urban environment while dealing with it. The paper focuses mostly on historical urban situations, and wide range of activities in changing the environment from architect or landscape architect’s professional point of view. The theoretic analysis is followed by the critical review of certain experiences in Lithuanian practice at that time, in characteristic redevelopment of spaces in the main cities (state capitals). The identified evolution reveals the expansion of the concept of urban context and growing regard for it both in theory and in practice. The evolution of contextual approach in Lithuanian practice follows the guidelines stated in documents of international organisations in spite of its political situation, but the research discloses its certain peculiarities.

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Integration into architectural or urban context as an evaluation criterion is claimed to be subjective and hardly substantiated. In spite of its ambiguity, it is generally accepted as one of the basic demands in architectural design. So what the context is in architectural design? The article explores specific understandings of architectural-urban context from characteristic perspectives in urban heritage protection and management. From perspective of architectural heritage protection, context is physical architectural objects nearby, perceived visually in a static mode, and respected in interventions by achieving harmonious relationship with it. From the point of view of cultural landscape, context is an interacting natural and man-made environment, constantly changing according to place-specific natural and cultural processes; its processual character and the accumulated meanings that rise from imbedded experiences ought to be continued in following architectural transformations. Historic urban landscape approach assumes that context is constantly developing through urbanization, cultural, social and economic processes, which cultural uniqueness and identity is saturated by place-based meanings, experiences and emotional relationships attributed by local community, ought to be contributed in present-day architectural transformations. From the point of view of sustainable development, context is an inherited cultural, social, material, economic resource and a source of traditional knowledge, performance and behaviours to be adapted and carried on towards a greater sensitivity to the environment, culture, climate, and place, and for the wellbeing of local community.

The article deals with doctoral dissertations prepared and defended at the Faculty of Architecture at current Vilnius Gediminas Technical University in spite of changes of its institutional subordination. It deepens into fields of scientific research investigated during doctoral studies that are considered an important part of research in architecture. The tendencies of evolution of doctorate at the Faculty of Architecture of VGTU are contextualised in architectural research and doctoral studies in architectural research and education institutions both in Lithuania and abroad. During the Soviet times, Lithuanian architects had a possibility to prepare and defend dissertations for a scientific degree of candidate of architectural sciences either at the Faculty of Architecture at Kaunas Polytechnic Institute (afterwards – at Vilnius Engineering Building Institute) or at institutions of architectural research and education in the Soviet Union, outside Lithuania, depending if Lithuanian institutions had the right to educate the aspirants for scientific degree and the right to defend their dissertations. It mostly influenced the dynamics of scientific degrees obtained (see Fig. 1). Architecture was defined as an autonomous research field under the Soviet classification and it helped to shape the identity of the discipline: its width, specific methods and questions. Architectural dissertations of Soviet times were rigorously specialised and empiric, closely connected with practice, deepening into urban issues more than architectural ones (see Fig. 2). Since 1998, architecture loses its integrity and becomes a subfield of Art Critics in Humanities. Since then doctoral dissertations defended at the Faculty of Architecture of VGTU investigate architectural history, theory and critics according traditional methodologies of humanities including interdisciplinary contexts; fundamental academic research dominates. Recent international dynamic changes in both doctoral studies and architectural research directs for the impact of research beyond academia generating more efficient contribution to architectural research and innovation related to ideas, forms, techniques, materials and practices based upon technological advances for the so-called society of knowledge; one of the means is creating various forms of doctorates. Nevertheless, the present situation of doctorate at the Faculty of Architecture of VGTU is not supportive for tuning to new tendencies – revision of national classification of research towards integrity of architecture field, and also introduction of a program of research by design, priorities for innovative, practice-embedded, interdisciplinary, future-oriented research in doctorate at the school might create much more positive medium for the progress. Santrauka Straipsnyje nagrinėjama doktorantūros (aspirantūros) Vilniaus Gedimino technikos universiteto Architektūros fakultete, nepaisant jo kitusios institucinės priklausomybės, raida. Pagrindinis dėmesys skiriamas apgintų disertacijų mokslinių tyrimų kryptims ir pobūdžiui kaip sudėtinei architektūros mokslo daliai, jų raidą ir kaitos tendencijas siejant su procesais kitose šalyse. Apžvelgiamos šiame amžiuje vykstančios aktualios dinamiškos permainos doktorantūros studijų sampratoje ir architektūros mokslo raidoje kaip architektūros doktorantūros studijų kaitą formuojančiuose veiksniuose. Naujų požiūrių kontekste įvertinamos doktorantūros studijų VGTU Architektūros fakultete pokyčių galimybės.