GLobalization

1THE POLITICAL REALITY OF GLOBALIZATION DEFINITION Globalization can be thought of as a process (or set of processes) which embodies a transformation in the spatial organization of social relations and transactions - assessed in terms of their extensity, intensity, velocity and impact - generating transcontinental or interregional flows, and networks of activity, interaction, and the exercise of power Globalization is often associated with economic development, financial markets and international business. In this context, the term globalization refers to the increasingly free flow of goods, services, financial capital and labor across national borders. Globalization refers to all those processes by which the peoples of the world are incorporated into a single world society, global society Globalization involves states that are leaner but they are also more active, and in some areas assume greater responsibilities. THE CONCEPT OF GLOBALIZATION -

is an interdisciplinary concept that has not a certain definition due to differences in views and interpretations. By some it is considered as creating a common global culture and homogenizing identities and life styles, while for others it may be interpreted as highlighting differences and supporting locality. Anthony Giddens describes globalization as a homogenizing process, made possible by the differentiation of time from space. In this way, modernization establishes a network of global relations between near-by and distant communities

ECONOMIC GLOBALIZATION -

The economic case for the benefits of globalization is well documented. Larger, international markets allow for more efficient, effective allocation of limited human, physical and financial resources. Global competition fosters innovation and improvements in organizations, goods and services. Through these market mechanisms, economic globalization leads to economic growth, international development and, overall, higher standards of living.

GLOBAL WORK FORCE AND HUMAN MIGRATION The global work force is more mobile than ever before. Workers move within and across national borders to take advantage of the ample economic opportunities arising from international development and economic globalization. CULTURAL GLOBALIZATION Globalization plays a major part in many forms of cultural and artistic exchange. Traveling companies of performance artists share their art forms and local traditions with audiences around the world. Culinary professionals ranging from globe-trotting celebrity chefs to line cooks spread local flavors and food culture by moving from kitchen to kitchen and opening new restaurants across the globe.

This analysis might suggest that anxieties about the decline of (a certain vision of) culture in the era of globalization are in fact justified. But there is also another crucial difference between globalization and post-modernism that needs to be pointed to first, which will begin to turn us back to the question of the activity of literary criticism and poetics in relation to globalization. Postmodernism -

Was never a public concept in the way that globalization has turned out to be. postmodernism never made anything more than a tentative leap from universities to the pages of broadsheets, appearing only occasionally in an article on the design of a new skyscraper or in sweeping dismissals of the perceived decadence of the contemporary humanities.

By contrast, globalization is argued for by the World Bank, -

is named in the business plans of Fortune 500 companies, and is on the lips of politicians across the globe; it constitutes official state policy and is the object of activist dissent: There is clearly more at stake in the concept of globalization than there ever was with postmodernism, a politics that extends far beyond the establishment of aesthetic categories to the determination of the shape of the present and the future — including the role played by culture in this future.

THE IMPACT OF GLOBALIZATION ON ARCHITECTURE - ENVIRONMENT RELATIONS: HOUSING PROJECTS AND DESIGN APPROACHES - Media flow and technological breakthroughs such as the TV, cinema, the internet and others are the most important factors enabling us to interact with remote communities which may be culturally different from our own. By such contact a common global culture is formed. *Stuart Hall emphasizes that a new kind of globalization process, in which global elements are intermingled with local ones, has been started, and this new type is the globalization of the American culture (Hall 1998). The spread of a global culture and lifestyles is very fast, compared to previous times, and it emanates from an identifiable center (Taylan 2008). Due to new communication technologies and media, culture has become a commodity, produced, offered and marketed, and so it has become an image. The world is becoming a single social space held together by the cultural transportation of semantic systems and symbolic forms (Hannerz 1998). ―the common culture created is the culture of those dominating this market‖.

GLOBAL UNIT AREA: CITY The internationalization of capital, changes in production types and profitability from production to consumption, and the growth of transnational investments have changed the economic order and the associated social and cultural patterns. Many concepts nowadays have become commodities to be marketed and consumed. In turn, many consumable items have started to play a role in the formation and delimitation of identities (Thorns 2010: 121). GLOBAL CITIES Global flows of finance, media, information, ethnicities, and technology shape societies, and therefore countries and cities. (Jonathan Friedman 1995).

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Cities are spatially organized socio-economical systems. As such they become global accumulation fields.

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The position of cities within these global flows also affects their economic, social, and cultural structures. Although "global cities" are the focal points of the world, they also represent globe-wide activities and positions of their countries. Moreover, they are involved in relations with other global cities.

Global cities - metropolises –

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are those cities that have high technological facilities, have been developed or transformed by international capital, have high investment values, have advanced communication transportation technologies, and have been in communication - interaction with the others.

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The uneven integration of the city into the global economy, however, may also produce urban dissociation, increasing urban crime, poverty, and fear (Thorns 2010: 74-76).

Dissociation effects of globalization change the lifestyle and expectations of urban dwellers and stimulate efforts for the creation of protected places free of the adversities of cities (Isik 2001; Suer 2002).

Global cities are engines and archives of growth, change, culture, and ideas. -

They are great places where much of the world goes to live, learn, work, and create.

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They are also challenging, often difficult places for everyone, but especially for those on the fringes who do not share the same advantages as their fellow urbanites.

On the other hand, the beauty of global cities is also that many of their benefits do not require a price of admission other than showing up. -

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For many city dwellers, the chance to rub elbows, swap stories, and share experiences with anyone and everyone from all manner of national, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds is more than enough reason to call a global city home.

SOCIAL CLOSURES Great differences in income levels within cities increase the crime rate and fear in cities. In response to the perceived danger, certain social groups withdraw from the public arena into enclosed complexes and residences with their own security personnel, surrounded by high walls and camera systems. For the luxurious housing projects, "lifestyle" is the key word. Each luxurious housing project represents a certain life style and identity which are emphasized especially during the promotion stages of such projects. Accessibility, particularly fast and quick access to the metro, the availability of services within complex, advanced security measures, good property appreciation forecast, the proximity of large shopping centers, and the image of an idealized global life style are considered as the most important points in the promotion process.

GLOBALIZATION FORCES IN ARCHITECTURE Cities and regions are facing great challenges as a consequence of globalization. One force seeks to safeguard and promulgate established indigenous architectural traditions, forms, decorative motifs, and technologies. It advocates historical continuity, cultural diversity, and preservation of identity, all symbolized by a particular architectural vocabulary, just as spoken languages and local dialects impart identity. The other force promotes invention and dissemination of new forms using new technologies and materials in response to changing functional needs and sensibilities. It places a premium on systemization, flexibility, and interchangeability (Lewis, 2002).

Trends Today, pressure to globalize architecture primarily springs from Two sources to Globalize Architecture: 1. the culture of commerce and 2. the culture of design. The global culture of commerce -

is driven by changing consumer expectations, market opportunities, and business agendas. Their architectural manifestations include iconic, sky-scraping banking towers, chains of standardized hotels, franchise restaurants, and shopping malls full of all-too-familiar namebrand stores.

The global culture of design -

is supported by architects who study what other architects are creating, no matter where. With fabulous photographs in slick magazines and professional journals, trend-conscious designers can scan and span the globe, sharing high-style concepts rendered in stylish materials. Glass, aluminum, stainless steel, copper, titanium, and natural stone are readily available. If they cannot be acquired locally, they can be imported.

Technology Globalization is now an unstoppable historical process led by technological change and involving the dissemination of science and new technologies. Rapid urbanization has only been made possible by the introduction of modern technology as a part of the development process. In one of the oldest treatises on architecture, Vitruvius proposed three essential requirements for all good architecture: firmitas, utilitas, and venustas (Morgan, 1914). Complex construction and advanced building design require a mastery of structures and construction technology, and as Michelle Addington (2006:64) mentions, “Technology is often considered the handmaiden of design and, as such, is meant to be subordinate: design is the why and the what, whereas technology is the how-to.” NEW TECHNOLOGIES ARE CHANGING THE NATURE OF WORK — WITH ITS MULTIDIMENSIONAL EFFECTS — by creating new forms of leisure, -

including the hyper-reality of cyberspace, new virtual realities, and new modes of information and entertainment.

Dramatic change and innovation have been part of modernity for centuries, as has technological development and expansion. A new global culture is emerging as a result of computer and communications technologies. Transitional forms of architecture are traversing national boundaries and becoming part of a new world culture. The new wave of technologies in electronics, robotics, telecommunications, new materials, and biotechnology has given rise to a new technology paradigm that accentuates the role of the world cities (Lo and Yeung, 1998). Thus, the adoption of appropriate technologies is a natural and unforced consequence of appropriate architecture. Together, they offer valid forms and images to take the place of models offered by industrialized nations, and as Shahin Vassigh (2004:112) mentions, “The practice of architecture is a delicate balance of art and science — a creative endeavor which also requires that the architect master a broad array of technical skills, including engineering.”

THE OPEN PRACTICE OF ARCHITECTURE IN THE PHILIPPINES "General Practice of Architecture" means the act of -

planning and architectural designing, structural conceptualization, specifying, supervising and giving general administration and responsible direction to the erection, enlargement or alterations of buildings and building environments and architectural design in engineering structures or any part thereof;

The scientific, aesthetic and orderly coordination of all the processes which enter into the production of a complete building or structure performed through the medium of unbiased preliminary studies Medium of unbiased preliminary studies of -

plans, consultations, specifications, conferences, evaluations, investigations, contract documents and oral advice and directions

regardless of whether the persons engaged in such practice are residents of the Philippines or have their principal office or place of business in this country or another territory, and regardless of whether such persons are performing one or all these duties, or whether such duties are performed in person or as the directing head of an office or organization performing them;

"Scope of the Practice of Architecture" encompasses the provision of professional services in connection with site, physical and planning and the design, construction, enlargement, conservation, renovation, remodeling, restoration or alteration of a building or group of buildings. Services may include, but are not limited to: (a) Planning, architectural designing and structural conceptualization; (b) consultation, consultancy, giving oral or written advice and directions, conferences, evaluations, investigations, quality surveys, appraisals and adjustments, architectural and operational planning, site analysis and other pre-design services; (c) schematic design, design development, contract documents and construction phases including professional consultancies; (d) preparation of preliminary, technical, economic and financial feasibility studies of plans, models and project promotional services; (e) preparation of architectural plans, specifications, bill of materials, cost estimates, general conditions and bidding documents; (f) construction and project management, giving general management, administration, supervision, coordination and responsible direction or the planning, architectural designing, construction, reconstruction, erection, enlargement or demolition, renovation, repair, orderly removal, remodeling, alteration, preservation or restoration of buildings or structures or complex buildings, including all their components, sites and environs, intended for private or public use; (g) the planning, architectural lay-outing and utilization of spaces within and surrounding such buildings or structures, housing design and community architecture, architectural interiors and space planning, architectural detailing, architectural lighting, acoustics, architectural lay-outing of mechanical, electrical, electronic, sanitary, plumbing, communications and other utility systems, equipment and fixtures; (h) building programming, building administration, construction arbitration and architectural conservation and restoration; (i) all works which relate to the scientific, aesthetic and orderly coordination of all works and branches of the work, systems and processes necessary for the production of a complete building or structure, whether for public or private use, in order to enhance and safeguard life, health and property and the promotion and enrichment of the quality of life, the architectural design of engineering structures or any part thereof; and (j) all other works, projects and activities which require the professional competence of an architect, including teaching of architectural subjects and architectural computer-aided design;