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Reseasrch Abstract Example

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7 views

Reseasrch Abstract Example

Uploaded by

Zenitsu Chan
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Abstract

The Greek architect and urban planner Constantinos Doxiadis belonged to the group of
professionals and thinkers who challenged the quality of urban environment and living,
as it had been evolved up to the mid of the 20 th century. Doxiadis identified the need for
revisiting policies in modern urban planning and he mobilized any available means –
theory, practice, education and communication- towards this end. Providing his services
as a government’s consultant in several countries of the under-development world during
the fifties and sixties, having established solid liaisons with distinguished Institutions in
the U.S.A., having a remarkable portfolio of materialized projects with global impact and
respectively planning, by means of introducing a new scientific domain in the service of
human settlements, that of Ekistics.
The proposed paper aims to explore the idea of Ekistics, through its implementation at
the Master Plan of Islamabad, or otherwise the City of the Future. Doxiadis was assigned
to design the new Federal Capital of Pakistan and he seized the opportunity to launch
Ekistics with this project of global magnitude –both Islamabad and Ekistics could be benefited
from such a gesture. Ekistics transcended the strict boundaries of urban planning, as
social, political and economic factors were also involved. It constituted a holistic
approach, which aimed towards the balance of the five primal elements of human
settlements, namely Nature, Man, Society, Shells and Networks. And it is not the agenda
pursued by means of the modernist functional city that is abandoned, it is rather that
changes in the processes followed can be observed.

273
should not be considered as an abandonment of the modernist ideals. On the
contrary, this turn could be appraised as a turn towards more sophisticated and
effective gestures, which could affect the very essentials of human beings either
examined as individuals, or as members of the social strata. For instance, it should
not be perceived as an abort of internationalism the fact that attention started to
be paid in local features and values. The established dialectic relationship between
localities and international modernism might have been originated in the fact
that architecture transcended the boundaries of the European territory, leaving
behind the familiarity of its own culture and roots. Modern architecture was
destined to find a quite fruitful field of action in the countries of the developing
world, suggesting Africa, Middle East, or South America, claiming its international
character not only in theory but also in practice. In order to acquire roots and
flourish at the most distant and diverse corners of earth, a kind of mingling with
local features appeared to be inevitable. It is not a story of denying
internationalism; instead, it is a story of propagating it.

Constantinos Doxiadis

The Greek architect and urban planner Constantinos Doxiadis belonged to the
group of professionals and thinkers who severely challenged the quality of the
urban environment, as it had been already evolved up to the mid of the 20 th
century. Characteristically, he talked about “urban nightmares” (Doxiadis, 1963,
p.19), or otherwise “dystopias” (Doxiadis, 1968, p.4). Even though, he credited
the revolutionary spirit of the Modern Movement’s leading figures, such as Gropius
or Le Corbusier, for breaking the bonds with academism, yet he considered the
goal as a non-fully achieved. To some important extent, he identified as critical
factor for the experienced failures the reluctance of his colleagues to transcend
the conventional boundaries set by the role of a designer and instead to become
master builders (Doxiadis, 1963). Doxiadis did not hesitate4 to make this leap, as

272
past, travelling around the world and offering my services.” (Doxiadis, 1963,
p.21). Pakistan, one of the newly emerging countries of the 20th century
decolonization period, has been a benchmark concerning Doxiadis’ global activity5.

Pakistan constitutes a par excellence nation-state building paradigm of the


preceding century’s developing world. The withdrawal of the British imperial forces
from the Indian subcontinent in 1947, led to the peninsula’s segregation according
to absolute religious criteria and therefore to the establishment of two
independent nation-states; Pakistan, the land of Muslims’ and respectively the
Hindus’ India. This story of nation-state building included, as expected, political
legitimization agendas, developmental policies, social reformation procedures,
international alliances making, collective consciousness moulding, as well as
modernization opportunities. However, Doxiadis identified in this case, beyond the
obvious opportunity for growing his reputation as a consultant of international
esteem, a great opportunity for scientific research to take place. The case study
for this research was meant to be Islamabad, the new federal capital of Pakistan,
the master plan of which was assigned to “Doxiadis Associates”, or more
accurately was entrusted to Constantinos Doxiadis by President General Ayub
Khan.

Islamabad can be considered to be mostly a political project. The idea of creating


an ex-novo urban scheme bearing the magnitude of a country’s capital city, which
was developed according to the most modern trends and internationally
accepted standards, acquired a highly symbolic meaning. In fact, it was heralded
as the ultimate symbol of national consolidation and progress, or otherwise as a
“historical project on which the hopes and dreams of the Nation depend.”
(Doxiadis Associates, 1964, p.1) Doxiadis found himself in charge of a highly
ambitious urban project, which was supposed to produce remarkable impact
both at national and international level and which also enjoyed complete support
from

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the country’s political leadership. All efforts and gazes were turned on the
Islamabad project, which if taken under consideration along with the fact that it
was implemented on a “tabula rasa” basis, or otherwise on a basis of minimizing
undesired commitments, it seems reasonable to conclude that Doxiadis has been
offered the perfect ground, in order to deploy and communicate his philosophy,
regarding modern urban planning.

275

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