Vietovės kultūrinio tapatumo respektavimas architektūroje

In order to respect cultural identity (i.e. to preserve the existing identity and to reveal its potential) the information regarding the particular identity should be considered during the preparation of a particular project. However, as the estimation of the present situation shows, in urban design, the information about the individual characteristics has not yet been formalized to a necessary degree. Architects should consider the possibilities offered by new information technologies (i.e. digital models of localities and database included into the so-called GIS – Geographical Information Systems) both for the determination of the locus’ cultural identity and for its respectation. Obviously, the orientation toward the application of the formalized information models of locus is purposeful. Although the majority of the authors claim that the environmental design should necessarily involve the estimation of the context and consideration of the local factors affecting the structural intention, they do not introduce clear instrumental tools and do not reveal sufficiently how to embody it in practice. The term identity is often employed to define the essential features of localities and architectural objects, which should be preserved and protected, in a word, respected. Locality is the concept pointing to both natural and relative territorial units of various types that are significant in relevant architectural contexts. The term identity is accompanied by the word cultural in order to maintain that the identity of locus is integrally related with the sphere of culture and with the idea of cultivation thus betraying the social dimension. The words character, the spirit of locality, the sense of place, and the local aura might be understood as its synonyms. The following objects of research have been aimed at: the disclosure of the cultural identity of locus, and of the process of its respectation (estimation) in the architectural theory and practice, and the information about localities that may be systematized, patterned, and employed for the demands of the cultural identity of locus by referring to its respectation. The thesis aims at the formulation of the strategic principles that might be used to define the respectation of the locality'’ cultural identity in the perspective of architectural design and to substantiate them theoretically and empirically. Another pursued goal is the working out of the concept of the locus’ cultural identity model, its structural principles, and the suggestions regarding their employment. The dissertation consists of an introduction, three sections, conclusions, a list of references, a list of illustrations, and graphic material. Section 1 describes the theoretical premises for the evaluation of the cultural identity of locus and for the organization of the respectation process as such. Here the concept of the locality’s cultural identity is discussed as well as the sources, ontology, the theoretical principles and ideas taken from architecturology, and other fields important for the revelation and respectation of cultural identity. The latter might encourage the expansion of the theoretical foundation in the sphere of the respectation of identity. Section 2 is devoted to the problem of the determination of cultural identity. By taking into consideration the theoretical premises, it analyses the mechanism of the information modelling, extends the structural principles of the identity model, introduces several specific examples representing the cultural identity of the Lithuanian concrete localities, and offers some general typological models. Section 3 explores the possibilities of the identity model application and its assistance in the process of the respectation of the locus’ cultural identity in architectural design and its interpretation.