Arguably many contemporary architectural theories and movements have spout in reaction to Modernism, which made the architectural theory discipline branched and divergent. This paper examines a scenario of approaching contrasting built environments in which their identities are constantly changing and where the post-modernists fractural nature of intellectual reactions and criticism led to an arguable tension that needs intervention. The data – based on literature review, participant-produced visual material, and phenomenological reflection are examined with a focus on investigating the role of juxtaposition in proliferating the concept of diversity in the built environment. Although the topic is originally theory-loaded, the analysis is hybrid and uses visual explorations as well as theoretical frameworks to produce multi-objective answers in which diversity in the built environment can be conceived, perceived, and lived. By taking the concept of juxtaposition as a cornerstone in this argument, this paper proposes an understanding of the overwhelmingly open world the modern human found themselves exposed to and suggests options and solutions to achieve diversity where abstract concepts can be cast into form in different architectural typologies.

Constantinos A. Doxiadis was a leading architectural and urban theorist during the 20th century. At the dawn of the Information Age, he renewed the call for a science of human settlements, which he termed ekistics. Current debate inevitably revolves around his legacy in the field. Our paper briefly reviews Doxiadis’ thinking about settlements and science, focusing on the state of ekistic thinking today based on the case study of Metropolitan Athens and the Attica Region in Greece using space syntax. We also evaluate the inherent potentials and pitfalls of his ecumenopolis (a world city) concept, arguing that it remains too abstract and impractical of an idea for today’s world. Nonetheless, Doxiadis’ intellectual legacy is profound. We conclude that architects, urban designers, and town planners should continue to develop Doxiadis’ ideas about dynapolis (dynamic city) and entopia (in place) in addressing placemaking in cities for people today and tomorrow.

Constantinos A. Doxiadis was a leading architectural and urban theorist during the 20th century. At the dawn of the Information Age, he renewed the call for a science of human settlements, which he termed ekistics. Current debate inevitably revolves around his legacy in the field. The present article briefly reviews Doxiadis’ thinking about settlements and science. Focusing on the state of ekistics thinking today, our analysis is based on the case study of Metropolitan Athens and the Attica Region in Greece using space syntax. WE explore the inherent potentials and pitfalls of Doxiadis’ conception of ecumenopolis - a type of world city –, arguing that it remains too abstract and impractical of an idea for today’s world. Nonetheless, Doxiadis’ intellectual legacy is profound. We conclude that architects, urban designers, and town planners should continue to develop Doxiadis’ ideas about dynapolis (dynamic city) and entopia (in place) when addressing placemaking in cities for people today and tomorrow.

Over a half-century, space syntax has proven resilient as a theory and method for describing and analyzing the built environment from dwellings and complex buildings to cities. The paper briefly discusses resilience as a concept in the built environment and the foundations of space syntax itself. We summarize the body of the theoretical thinking in space syntax – laws of the urban object, generic function, principles of centrality and linearity, the design method of spatio-formal processes, and laws of spatial emergence-convergence – before offering a new hypothesis about laws of spatial conservation and spatial optimization at work in the built environment. The latter builds on Conroy-Dalton’s (2001) ideas about angularity and the conservation of linearity in movement. Both could provide an essential bridge with Carvalho and Penn’s (2004) concept of self-similarity in settlements, which relates to Batty and Longley’s (1994) notions of fractal cities. We argue the hypothesis of conservation-optimization defines the conceptual framework for the progressive and regressive practice of urban planning in settlements. We illustrate this theoretical discussion by demonstrating the resilience or replication of previous space syntax findings, and by drawing on new research about the history, spatial structure, and neighborhood logic of Metropolitan Doha.