Architectural Value and Urban Metabolism and the post-oil city as transition to what comes after.

Abstract

This paper contributes to the evolutionary transition of urban environments, which the city represents, through the supposition that the post-oil period is transitional toward introducing architectural value that may serve realizing metabolism in settlements. This paper interweaves urbanity, architectural value and the practice of its provision to describe this transformative evolution. The words ‘city’ and ‘urban’ are commonly used interchangeably and are tacitly opposed to the land, nature and its life, including rurality. Ubiquitous urban interactivity is proposed as narrow technological valuation based on scientific parameters that do not comprehend nature’s reality and the quality of life, love, consciousness and its purpose. This paper references spiritual practice to show that architectural value is inclusive of these essential elements. Conceptual project-based thinking of architectural practice draws architectural value to the wider planning level to invoke true metabolism. Four parameters of urbanity point to evolving cities’ metabolic quality and efficiency beyond physical and psychological health. The work of a studio project located at peri-city areas of Vellore in India expresses these parameters in action. The cooperative whole of settlements in nature, architectural value as high quality environments that translate and support high quality society, as forms of wellbeing and daily life satisfaction, with socially integrated purpose, serve to evolve settlement metabolism essential to human responsibility. pandemic and our reactions signal to us. This paper interweaves the existing paradigm of urbanity and the city, architectural value and the practice of architecture’s provision to describe enabling our coming transformational period through realizing architectural value.