Vesselina Penevska
Papers of BAS. Humanities and Social Sciences
Vol. 6, 2019, No. 2
The building of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences:
Matter and spirit
Vesselina Penevska
Abstract. The article traces the individuals whose lives and work are connected with the central building of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS). The founders include not only eminent men of letters and public figures like Marin Drinov, Dobri Voynikov, Lyuben Karavelov, Vasil Levski, Hristo Botev, but also enlightened businesspersons like the brothers Evlogi and Hristo Georgievi. A constellation of outstanding architects have imbued the building with their artistic brilliance: Jacob Meyer, Petko Momchilov, Sava Ovcharov, Yordan Yordanov, Lyuben Konstantinov. The political activity of a number of statesmen is linked to the building: they include the prime ministers Aleksandar Malinov, Vasil Radoslavov, Aleksandar Stamboliyski, Nikola Mushanov, Kimon Georgiev, and nearly twenty ministers of foreign affairs. The forty-year-long history of the building’s construction is also charged with the energy of the Academy’s devoted presidents Ivan Evstratiev Geshov, Lyubomir Miletich, Bogdan Filov.
Keywords: BAS, building, architecture, history, personalities
Papers of BAS. Humanities and Social Sciences
Vol. 5, 2018, No. 1
Methodological challenges
in assessing social quality of buildings
Vesselina Penevska
Abstract. Although many of the rules for achieving a social adequacy of buildings are interwoven in the principles and standards of architectural design at a given historic period and place, architects do not have at their disposal an integral, reliable, and unified approach to predict whether, and to what extent, a building will fulfil the needs of the people who inhabit the building. Awareness of the need for such an approach does exist, but to date, there is no reliable algorithm for describing, measuring and assessing the social performance of buildings and urban spaces. This article analyses the basic methodological challenges in creating a system for assessing the social quality of build environment. The challenges concern defining the concept and a categorical paradigm for it, creating a conceptual model along with indicators for describing it, and a principle for intertwined indicators into a homogenous whole. The article proposes variants for their articulation.
Keywords: architecture, social quality, measurement, assessment system, environmental psychology
Papers of BAS, Humanities and Social Sciences
Vol. 4, No 1, 2017
ARCHITECTURE
Innovative strategies in hotel architecture
Vesselina Penevska
Abstract: Hotel architecture at the beginning of the 21st century is symptomatic of the developments of contemporary architecture in general. Being a ‘representative example’ of a bundle of building types – residential, recreational, entertainment, sports and work related – makes it a fertile ground for studying the approaches and stylistic tendencies in current architecture worldwide. Based on this assumption, the paper explores the driving forces of hotel architecture and their manifestations embodied in the new hotel ‘philosophy’, goals, content and appearance. It is argued that there are new design principles guiding the avant-garde hotels of the new century that upgrade the conventions of Modern and Postmodern architecture. Those principles stem from the interplay of three strategies that lead the hotel development. Innovations in hotel architecture, design and services are outlined and discussed. The paper also examines the emerging new hotel types that go far beyond the common understanding of what has been defined as ‘hotel’ so far. Examples of creative hotel leitmotivs are also presented and analysed.
Key words: architecture, hotel, strategy, innovation, avant-garde, personalisation, experience, traveler, sustainability, corporate social responsibility