Architectural Education as Interface between Culture and Built Environment

Abstract

The main focus of this paper is the discussion about non-coherent appearance of built environment in Pakistan that does not reflect the culture of society, but external influences more than natives. Being a part of a larger territory in yester centuries, the country is influenced heavily by external factors and deliberated efforts for “modernization” since after a decade of independence in 1947. Many parts of the subcontinent including India and Pakistan are influenced by Modernist trends in architecture that are evident in the built environment. The probability of inclusion of many diversified attributes of culture over a considerable period of time has been increased. It is therefore important to discuss the most relevant possibilities through which these influences were adopted and then were translated in the built environment. These influences are assumed to be translated through the taught content in the architectural education in the country.
 The paper also discusses the relationship of three entities; Culture, Built Environment and Architectural Education. It takes into account some examples of residences from Pakistan to analyze the interfacing capacity of culture and built environment. It adopts the methodology of qualitative study through literature and evidences from some cities of Pakistan to seek the validity of argument. It also relates the role of curriculum driven architectural education in the process of built environment. The findings reveal that the existing form of culture has grasped external influences in a subtle manner adopting a new form which appears as non-coherent to the generally perceived one. The role of architectural education in this regard holds a pivotal position in relation to the built environment. The findings established also connote architectural education as the interfacing factor of culture and built environment.