Metadata
Title
Place, Culture and Identity
Category
graduate
UUID
d2535788fb294d00a25f0e9574672d2c
Source URL
https://www.brookes.ac.uk/research/units/tde/groups/place-culture-and-identity
Parent URL
https://www.brookes.ac.uk/engage-and-innovate/consultancy
Crawl Time
2026-03-19T05:20:29+00:00
Rendered Raw Markdown

Place, Culture and Identity

Source: https://www.brookes.ac.uk/research/units/tde/groups/place-culture-and-identity Parent: https://www.brookes.ac.uk/engage-and-innovate/consultancy

Group Leader(s): Professor Aylin Orbasli

Contact:

aorbasli@brookes.ac.uk

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About us

Research impact

Leadership

Membership

Projects

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About us Research impact Leadership Membership Projects

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About us

Space and architecture are shaped by the culture and the identities of communities as much as those communities are shaped by their perception and use of space and architecture.

Members of the group investigate this dynamic dialectical relationship from different disciplinary perspectives, including (interior) architecture, anthropology, urban conservation and history.

Focusing on different types and notions of place in various parts of the world and contexts, the aim of the Place, Culture and Identity group is to contribute to a better theoretical understanding of both the nature of the process of place-making and the way it relates to aspects of culture, identity, aesthetics, memory, tradition, representation and architectural practice. While focused on theory, much of this research is grounded in practice and the communities that it serves.

More about our research themes

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Research impact

The research of the group makes a significant academic impact in a range of fields and disciplines, including architecture, vernacular architecture studies, urban conservation and regeneration, heritage studies, conservation and adaptive re-uses, architectural and urban history, biodiversity and food production within the built environment.

Group members are actively engaged in the dissemination of their research outcomes to wider audiences via exhibitions, social media platforms and open access databases.

Some research is specifically embedded in communities of interest through processes of engagement, empowerment, co-creation and knowledge transfer.

Leadership

Professor Aylin Orbasli

Professor of Architectural and Urban Heritage

View profile for Aylin Orbasli

Membership

Staff members

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Staff

Name Role Email
Philip Baker Senior Lecturer in Architecture pbaker@brookes.ac.uk
Kisha Clarke Senior Lecturer khishaclarke@brookes.ac.uk
Ms Maria Faraone Senior Lecturer in Architecture, RIBA Studio Programme Director MFaraone@Brookes.ac.uk
Ms Melissa Kinnear Associate Lecturer mkinnear@brookes.ac.uk
Professor Aylin Orbasli Professor of Architectural and Urban Heritage aorbasli@brookes.ac.uk
Dr Francesco Proto Senior Lecturer in Architecture fproto@brookes.ac.uk
Dr Kelly Reed Programme Manager Endangered Wooden Architecture Programme kellyreed@brookes.ac.uk
Dr Emma Rowden Senior Lecturer erowden@brookes.ac.uk
Dr Mina Samangooei Senior Lecturer in Architecture m.samangooei@brookes.ac.uk
Orit Sarfatti Senior Lecturer orit.sarfatti@brookes.ac.uk
Professor Marcel Vellinga Professor of Anthropology of Architecture mvellinga@brookes.ac.uk

Projects

Active projects Completed projects

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Active projects

Project title and description Investigator(s) Funder(s) Dates
Architectural Regeneration Professor Aylin Orbasli
Erwin Anton Gutkind (1886-1968): Architect and Scholar Professor Marcel Vellinga British Academy, Leverhulme Trust
Encyclopedia of Vernacular Architecture of the World A major development in the field of vernacular architecture studies, this new edition encyclopedia, with its expanded theoretical and geographical scope, will reflect the considerable growth in research in the field since the first edition. Professor Marcel Vellinga From: September 2015 Until: January 2023
Communal Child Rearing on the Israeli Kibbutz Between the Years 1920-1960 Orit Sarfatti From: September 2015
Urban and architectural forms of the 19th century Red Sea Professor Aylin Orbasli
Architectural writings of Jean Baudrillard Dr Francesco Proto
Postmodernism Unbound Dr Francesco Proto
Narcissism and the City Dr Francesco Proto
Tourism, heritage and identity Professor Aylin Orbasli
Edible Streets Dr Mina Samangooei
Black in Architecture
Community participation and practices of engagement Professor Aylin Orbasli
Public architecture: courthouse design, due process and dignity Dr Emma Rowden
Biodiversity working group Dr Mina Samangooei

Our research themes

Anthropology of Architecture

Research and projects in the field of anthropology of architecture set out to provide an understanding of the social and cultural importance of architecture, as well as of the characteristics of an anthropological approach to its study. Special emphasis is placed on the study of vernacular architecture around the world.

Encyclopedia of Vernacular Architecture of the World

Paul Oliver Vernacular Architecture Library

Endangered Wooden Architecture Programme

Histories of People and Places

Research being undertaken under this theme investigates the relationship between people and places from a variety of historical perspectives, focusing on the work of individual scholars as well as particular places and time periods, and their influences on theory.

Erwin Anton Gutkind: architect and scholar

Urban and architectural forms of the 19th century Red Sea

Architectural writings of Jean Baudrillard

Postmodernism Unbound

Communal child rearing on the Israeli Kibbutz

Narcissism and the City

Urban Conservation and Regeneration

Research being undertaken in the urban conservation and regeneration field includes a range of projects on the conservation, adaptation, regeneration and management of the historic built environment in its multiple forms and communities. This theme also takes a more in-depth look at biodiversity and food production within the built environment, particularly from a physical and mental well-being perspective.

Architectural Regeneration

Tourism, heritage and identity

Biodiversity working group

Edible Streets

Cultures of Architecture and Space

Research in this area covers investigations into the various cultures of architecture and its attendant spaces. These range from investigations into public infrastructure (with a focus on courthouses as a particular case study), as well the cultural spaces of the education and practice of architects.

Public architecture: courthouse design, due process and dignity

Black in Architecture

Community participation and practices of engagement

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