PART 2 COMMUNITY STRUCTURE AND URBAN FORM

Sociology of architecture is a term that describes the sociological study of either: the built environment or the role and occupation of architects in (modern) societies The term built environment refers to the human-made surroundings that provide the setting for human activity, ranging in scale from buildings and parks or green space to neighbourhoods and cities that can often include their supporting infrastructure, such as water supply, or energy networks. The built environment is a material, spatial and cultural product that combines physical elements and energy in forms for living, working and playing. It has been defined as the human-made space in which people live, work, and recreate on a day-to-day basis. The built environment encompasses places and spaces created or modified by people including buildings, parks, and transportation systems. In recent years, public health research has expanded the definition of "built environment" to include healthy food access, community gardens, walkabilty", and bankability.

The role and occupation of architects in (modern) societies Architecture is basically constituted of the aesthetic, the engineering and the social aspects. The built environment which is made up of designed spaces and the activities of people are inter-related and inseparable. It is for us to understand this interrelationship and put it down appropriately on paper. Social institutions are many and these social institutions sometimes need functional spaces to allow the people using the building to benefit from all aspects of both the purpose of what inhabits the building and by the vary structure and organized flow of said structure. The way the buildings are designed to fulfil the needs of these social institutions /social requirements can be said to be the compliance of social aspects in architecture.

Architects and sociologists are increasingly realizing that the two professions have close and important linkages. Certainly the two directly contribute to organizational development. As evidence of this combined assistance, consider the following two examples recently provided by organizational sociologist David Jaffe (2001).

Shell-Sarnia produces alcohol and polypropylene and has become a model company within this industry. The 130 workers of the company have been organized according to 18 semi-autonomous teams. Within each team the members decide upon their own work processes and are also free to choose their own training methods, assignments, and shifts. Unrestricted and multi-task learning is encouraged, and work skills and performance are valued over job classification and seniority. Reliance on managers for worker supervision and job directions is minimal, and a culture of open discussion, democracy, team problemsolving, self-realization, and pride in product and services has resulted. The employees in fact provided advice about the design of the continuous transformation technology used in the production process as well as the layout of the plant itself. The physical space reflects the organizations flat hierarchy of authority and an easy access for all to computers and on-line information as well as offices and labs.

Oticon Holding, located in Denmark, is a major producer of hearing aids and has been applauded especially for its research an development. The companys success is attributed to a new administrative plan that included no formal hierarchy, no specialized positions, and few formal rules, and also to a new and complementary physical environment wherein each employee was given an office on wheels, a computer as well as software common to all members, and a mobile phone Employees could move their mobile offices as needed to work with others on specific projects. This changed philosophy and the absence of walls and other physical barriers resulted in increased communication, coordination of work tasks, team problem-solving, and creative solutions. The plan also sought to create a paperless organization and so a paper room was built where employees would scan important mail to computers, delete the unimportant, and shred the paper. (Labarre, 1996 and Jaffe, 2001)

For our purposes three important lessons emerge from these two examples.
First, organizational development not only involves administrative changes, such as establishing new lines of authority, rules, and work processes, but also most often necessitates a matching design or redesign of the physical environment. If company officials choose to have steep hierarchies of authority and the usual functional separations of work tasks, then buildings would typically be designed to place the highest executives on the top floor with secondary administrators on lower floors and workers with the least status occupying the bottom floors. Walls, partitions, and separate buildings would also probably be designed to house workers as per their specialized function for the company. In contrast, both Shell-Sarnia and Oticon required a very different type of physical environment that would complement their postadministrative approaches. If organizations of this latter type have as their goal to promote open communication, integration.

Second, successful attempts at organizational development are seldom approached blindly. Initiating a new administrative approach and/or designing a new building requires that we do the necessary research by gaining the input from all the major stakeholders, including the workers, managers, owners, directors, and existing as well as prospective clients. Careful evaluation of the successes and failures of similar organizations that have implemented related administrative approaches and physical environments would also be beneficial. Evaluative research after the new administrative plan and new construction are in place should be equally rigorous and thorough. Sound research is as much a vital part of all phases of the new administrative plan as it is for all construction phases pre design and programming, design, construction, and post-construction. Ultimately, the research goal is to assess the impact of the new administrative change and/or the new physical environment on organizational development

Third, successful organizational development efforts derive from well established and over-lapping sociological, psychological, and business theories. For example, the organizational development efforts of Shell-Sarina and Oticon reflect emerging post-bureaucratic theory, systems theory, networking and team building theory, social psychological theories that focus on worker participation, empowerment and self realization, and theories that emphasize the importance of integrated organizational cultures for organization success.

The architects professional life is perhaps more difficult than that of any other artist.

Architecture is a peculiarly public art because buildings generally have a social function, and many buildings require public funds.

Thus architects must be psychologists, sociologists, economists, businesspeople, politicians, and courtiers. They must also be engineers, for they must be able to construct structurally stable buildings. Architects have to take into account four basic and closely interrelated necessities: technical requirements, use, spatial relationships, and content. Of the four necessities, the technical requirements of a building are the most obvious. Buildings must stand (and withstand). Architects must know the material and their potentialities, how to put the materials together, and how the materials will work on a particular site. So architects are engineers. But they are something more as well - artists.

Functional Requirements of Architecture Architects must not only make their buildings stand but also usually stand them in such a way that they reveal their function or use. Some believe that (form must follow function). If form follows function in the sense that the form stands for the function; of its building, then conventional forms or structures are often sufficient. No one is likely to mistake Chartres Cathedral for an office building.

Revelatory Requirements of Architecture The function or use of a building is an essential part of the subject matter of that building, what the architect interprets or gives insight into by means of his form.
Essential values of contemporary society are a part of all artists subject matter; part of what they must interpret in their work, and this-because of the public character of architecture--is especially so with architects. The way architects (and artists generally) are influenced by the values of their society has been given many explanations. To participate with a work of public architecture fully, we must have as complete an understanding as possible of its subject matter. The function of the building and the relevant values of the society which subsidized the building.

Community
As per Maclver defines community as an area of social living marked by some degree of social coherence

Elements of Community
1. Group of people 2. Locality 3. Community sentiments 4. Permanency 5. Naturality 6. Likeness 7. A particular name 8. No legal status 9. Size of community

Types of Community
1. The Neighbourhood 1.1 City Neighbourhood 1.2 Village Neighbourhood 1.3 Neighbourhood feud 2. The Village Community 2.1 Primitive village community 2.2 Medieval village community 3.3 Modern Village community 3. The Urban community

Features of Village Community i. Community Consciousness ii. Role of Neighbourhood iii. Joint family iv. Faith in religion v. Simplicity Growth of village community i. Topographical factors ii. Economic factors iii. Social factors Characteristic of Indian villages i. Isolation and self-sufficiency ii. Peace and simplicity iii. Conservatism iv. Poverty and Illiteracy v. Local self-government

Change in village Community i. Caste system ii. Jajmani system iii. Family system iv. Marriage system v. Living standards vi. Economic standards vii. Political systems

URBAN COMMUNITY
The growth of Cities i. Surplus resources ii. Industrialization and commercialization iii. Development of transport and communication iv. Economic pull of the city v. Educational and recreational facilities Classification of cities i. Production centers ii. Center for trade and commerce iii. Political capitals for instances iv. Cultural centers v. Resort cities vi. Diversified cities

Features of urban community i. Namelessness ii. Homelessness iii. Class Extremes iv. Social heterogeneity v. Social distances vi. Energy and speed

Urban rural contrast

i. Force of Traditional Mores ii. Primary Contacts iii. Simplicity and uniformity iv. Specialization v. Proper Placing of All vi. Social Mobility vii. Areas of Specialization viii. Position of Women ix. Contrast of Qualities x. City a Home of wealth