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27
result(s) for
"Architecture Competitions Europe."
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The performance effect of network and managerial capabilities of entrepreneurial firms
Building on the organizational capabilities view, this study explores the impact of network and managerial capabilities on the performance of entrepreneurial firms in the architecture and real estate sector. We apply an extended organizational capabilities model by integrating Porter's value chain model and Grant's hierarchy of organizational capabilities. Starting from differences in entrepreneurial orientation between architecture and real estate development firms, we argue that under higher environmental uncertainty, network capabilities are more important for the performance of architecture firms whereas managerial capabilities are more important for the performance of real estate development firms. Employing data from Austria, Germany, and Switzerland, the research results support the hypotheses. This study integrates Porter's value chain concept and the organizational capabilities model and delivers a contribution to the organizational capability theory. In addition, it contributes to the entrepreneurship literature by showing that network capabilities are more important for creating competitive advantage in entrepreneurial firms than in other firms.
Journal Article
Urban regeneration through retrofitting social housing: the AURA 3.1 prototype
As a large proportion of housing stock does not meet the current demands for energy and comfort (leading to high levels of obsolescence and vulnerability), the annual rate of energy upgrades for the existing stock must be increased. The AURA Strategy is an intervention methodology which focuses on the regeneration of neighbourhoods or obsolete urban fabrics which suffer from high levels of architectural, urban and socio-economic vulnerability. Within this context, the AURA 3.1 prototype was developed for the Solar Decathlon Europe 2019 Competition. The project was based around a sustainable construction strategy for the urban regeneration of obsolete residential neighbourhoods, through the reuse of existing buildings considering Mediterranean climate and energy. The Poligono San Pablo neighbourhood was chosen as the case study. This article presents the main retrofit action: the juxtaposition on the existing building of a structural-architectural system which provides new technological and spatial features. Quantitative data regarding the validity and effectiveness of the AURA Strategy could be collected from the monitoring of the Pavilion prototype during the competition. Two first prizes were won in contests with on-site measurements: Comfort conditions and House Functioning. Third place was also obtained in the Sustainability contest, thus confirming the enormous possibilities the AURA Strategy has for sustainable urban regeneration in retrofitting social housing, within the limitations of the competition.
Journal Article
Culture-led city brands as economic engines: theory and empirics
Cultural re-imaging through iconic art museums aims to create symbolic capital for a place in the form of creative images, reputation and associations with innovation. While literature has long identified architectural uniqueness as a potential driver of brand competitiveness, we argue diffusion of that image is equally important. This work draws upon economic concepts from other cultural industries (such as film, music and art) to develop a framework for understanding how cultural brands are built: How reproducible images of singular architecture accumulate in the media to strengthen a brand. We then test an art brand’s impact on visitors. This work aims to offer evidence that the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao brand generates tourism to the city of Bilbao. By understanding how iconic cultural infrastructures create symbolic capital, policy makers may better tailor similar culture-led branding strategies to other places.
Journal Article
Working toward a Stable Regional Order
Conditions in the Arab world since 2011 have brought about a perfect storm of national and regional instability: the Arab revolts challenged the authoritarian order in six Arab countries, and intense competition among regional powers has flared into an open proxy war. The combination has caused four Arab states to fully or partially fail. Their failure has created the ungoverned space and sociopolitical chaos that has allowed al-Qaeda to resurge and enabled the formation and spread of ISIS. This article examines the elements of today's unstable Middle East regional order and suggests steps that the next U.S. president can take to help re-create a stable and less conflictual regional order, including in key states such as Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Iran. This is key to ending civil wars, rebuilding failed states, and reclaiming ungoverned space from terrorist groups and denying ungoverned space to them in the future.
Journal Article
Simulated Warming Differentially Affects the Growth and Competitive Ability of Centaurea maculosa Populations from Home and Introduced Ranges
Climate warming may drive invasions by exotic plants, thereby raising concerns over the risks of invasive plants. However, little is known about how climate warming influences the growth and competitive ability of exotic plants from their home and introduced ranges. We conducted a common garden experiment with an invasive plant Centaurea maculosa and a native plant Poa pratensis, in which a mixture of sand and vermiculite was used as a neutral medium, and contrasted the total biomass, competitive effects, and competitive responses of C. maculosa populations from Europe (home range) and North America (introduced range) under two different temperatures. The warming-induced inhibitory effects on the growth of C. maculosa alone were stronger in Europe than in North America. The competitive ability of C. maculosa plants from North America was greater than that of plants from Europe under the ambient condition whereas this competitive ability followed the opposite direction under the warming condition, suggesting that warming may enable European C. maculosa to be more invasive. Across two continents, warming treatment increased the competitive advantage instead of the growth advantage of C. maculosa, suggesting that climate warming may facilitate C. maculosa invasions through altering competitive outcomes between C. maculosa and its neighbors. Additionally, the growth response of C. maculosa to warming could predict its ability to avoid being suppressed by its neighbors.
Journal Article
Walls and bridges: knowledge spillover between 'superdutch' architectural firms
Innovation thrives on the face-to-face exchange of tacit knowledge. In this article, the focus is on how firms in a cutting-edge cultural industry, namely architectural design in Rotterdam and Amsterdam, can exchange knowledge. By using in-depth interviews with the main players in this field, I have explored different conduits for the exchange of knowledge. These conduits turned out to be rather different than was expected: the importance of the individual signature creates high walls between firms and no project-based organizations were found. Instead, the spin-offs, the highly mobile labour pool and the dedicated institutions function as bridges for knowledge exchange.
Journal Article
The role of public libraries in culture-led urban regeneration
Purpose - The purpose of this article is to present a research project on public libraries in urban development focusing on how libraries contribute to culture-led urban regeneration as icons, placemakers and community vitalization.Design methodology approach - The research project is based on case studies of new \"cutting-edge\" public libraries in Europe and North America. These case studies have been conducted through analysis of documents, observation and qualitative interviews with key informants.Findings - The article finds that new public libraries have re-conceptualized their design, brand and functions as an answer to strategies of culture-led urban regeneration, and at the same time they have actively contributed to urban development by changing the image and identity of urban places, contributing to urban diversity and addressing social and economic problems.Practical implications - The article provides a framework for development of strategies and legitimization for public libraries and a point of departure for the discussion of the library's contribution to urban development.Originality value - This is the first public presentation of the findings of the results of the research project Public Libraries in Urban Development - Creativity, Innovation and Experience outside the Nordic countries.
Journal Article
A review of marketing strategies from the European chocolate industry
This paper reviews the main marketing strategies applied by the European chocolate industry. It focuses on the role of country-of-origin, product diversification and scenarios, and provides a historical overview of the industry. This is followed by a discussion of the association between a brand and country-of-origin, before scrutinising the chocolate industry. The analysis of this study uses evidence gathered from the consumer chocolate ranking, company annual reports, consultant statistics, corporate websites and the newspaper archives. The analysis compares the marketing strategies of case studies selected; namely, Ferrero Rocher, Cadbury, Lindt and Sprüngli and Godiva. Moreover, emphasis is placed on the similarities and differences of these brands and other chocolate brands outside Europe. The study's existing literature and analysis suggests that historical context and business history play important roles over time.
Journal Article
Reinventing the doubt of the icon: A virtual case study in a post-Soviet country’s capital
The main objective of this paper is to define, negotiate and debate radical socio-cultural approaches of landscape creation in today’s megacities, within a strict capitalist context. For this reason, it investigates both the theoretical and concrete manner of the spatial expression within an imposed contemporary Foucauldian state of disciplines. Therefore, the research methodology simultaneously develops two different hypotheses in order to bridge the gap between the theoretical explorations and concrete dimension of architectural creation. The primary hypothesis is based on the Lacanian dimension of doubt that is considered in this work as the Chomskyan primitive power that gives birth to every idea or concept, having the potential to exasperate the radical imaginary of each society such as it is defined in Castoriadis’ writings. The second main hypothesis is based on an analytical exploration of space creation within strict political and economical contexts. For this purpose, a post-Soviet country served as a case study in order to investigate the cultural landscape values in both communist and capitalist regimes. Hence, focusing on Armenia and especially on Yerevan’s landscape transformations during the transition from communism to capitalism, this article first departs from the need to employ a deep theoretical analysis of non-economic factors in order to guide capitalist societies through cooperation with the disadvantaged social structure that has no space in today’s megacities and, second, details an original landscape creation sketched by a real recent architectural competition that is seen here as a contemporary Foucauldian state of disciplines. The main object of the architectural composition presented in this contribution is to fulfil the competitions’ guidelines – having in mind, however, consolidation of the imposed image of global capitalism with local elements in order to form a Foucauldian heterotopia by allowing different socio-cultural identities to debate, contest or doubt the proposed iconic spatial expression. The article offers a new approach regarding the notion of doubt seen here as a positive element of architectural practice by proposing its continuous existence in the conceptual dimension of architecture.
Journal Article