Creating European Identity Through Architecture

Search 1
Date of Search:
November 2nd 2009

Search Topic:
"Architecture European Union"

Where did I Search?:
Illinois Library Catalog

Results
My search returned 34 book results, most of which had to do with theoretical architectural constructs, i.e.: "Debating the global financial architecture", or "The search for a new security architecture"... However, there were three book results that dealt specifically with architecture and urban design in the European Union, one of which (The Capital of Europe: Architecture and Urban Planning for the European Union) deals primarily with how the architectural styles of European Union administration buildings in Brussels and Strasbourg have influenced European identity. The other two books focus less on architectural patronage by EU administration and more at architectural movement in the private sector, and may be tangentially informative for my paper.

Citations
Bielefeld, Bert. Building projects in the European Union: Architectural Export Opportunities: a manual for architects and engineers. Basel: Birkhauser, 2005. Print.

Hein, Carola. The Capital of Europe: Architecture and Urban Planning for the European Union. Westport: Praeger, 2004. Print.

Mies van der Rohe Foundation. European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture: Mies van der Rohe award 2001. Barcelone: Actar, 2001

Search 2
Date of Search:
November 2nd 2009

Search Topic:
"Construction European Union"

Where did I Search?:
Scopus

Results
My search returned 1256 articles; however, many seemed to focus again on theoretical "constructions" as opposed to physical buildings. I found two articles to be somewhat interesting although perhaps not super relevant to my topic: both dealt with European directives regarding construction laws. The first, entitled "Prevention through Design: The Effect of European Directives on Construction Workplace Accidents" examines how a directive passed in 1999 has influenced accident rates in the construction workplace among the EU15 countries during the last decade. Published just 8 months ago, the research is quite contemporary and provides an interesting insight into how European directives in general affect the everyday lives of workers and the general populous within the EU.

The second article, entitled "Constructing Reasonableness: Environmental Access Policy for disabled wheelchair users in four European Union countries" examines latent construction policy discrimination against individuals with mobile impairments in the UK, Ireland, France, and Malta and addresses ways that new policies can correct these problems. This creates an interesting question of "specificity", particularly as to whether the EU should have a common accessibility policy among all member states (such as the ADA policy in the US), or if member states should be allowed to establish their own architectural guidelines in this regard.

While these articles both address important issues in the built environment for the EU, they are more technically focused and less relevant to a humanistic evaluation of how architecture influences public perception and identity. I do not intend to use them in my final paper.

Search 3
Date of Search:
November 2nd 2009

Search Topic:
"Architecture European Union"

Where did I Search?:
Web of Science

Results:
My search returned 100 articles. One article, a review of four other books, was particularly useful in that it related perfectly to my topic and provided additional resources of places to look. Included in this review (found in the Journal of Urban History, written by Florian Urban, appropriately enough) was an analysis of the earlier book I had found by Carola Hein, as well as another book by the same author (European Brussels, Whose Capital? Whose City?) that provides a more in depth study of her compiled research. Two additional books will provide a solid context for my research: specifically, how does the architecture of governments represent and influence the cultural identity of a people?

Citations:

Gordon, D. (Ed.). Planning Twentieth Century Capital Cities. New York: Routledge, 2006. Print.

Hein, Carola. (Ed.). Bruxelles l’Européenne, Capitale de qui? Ville de qui? Brussels:
Institut Supérieur d’Architecture de la Communauté Française, 2006. Print.

Sonne, W. Representing the State: Capital City Planning in the Early Twentieth Century. Munich and New York: Prestel, 2003. Print.