Beyond the Structural Joint: A Multidimensional Framework for Architectural Evaluation
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Abstract
The architectural joint has been traditionally considered a structural component. Actually, it involves four dimensions: spatial, perceptual, symbolic, and technical dimensions that connect the material and the intellectual aspects of architecture. In the literature of expert-based architectural evaluation, there is no report of a standardized quantitative method which assesses these dimensions as a whole. To solve this problem, this study formulated and piloted the Joint Strength Index (JSI), which assumed that a joint's effectiveness is not only determined by technical complexity, but also by its capacity to create meaning in all four dimensions. A total of 55 architectural experts were asked in this research to complete a questionnaire based on the framework, and the results were reported using a five-point Likert scale in a repeated, within-subjects design (Cronbach's alpha = 0.757). Normalized JSI values ranged from 0.727 to 0.985 (theoretical range 0.20–1.00). The difference in scores between the integrative cases (the Holy Kaaba, the Church of Light, and the Louvre Pyramid) and the techno-centric or disjunctive cases (Centre Pompidou) was statistically significant (Friedman χ²(12) = 157.38, p < 0.001), and there was a small-to-moderate degree of inter-evaluator concordance (Kendall's W=0.24). The study provides three theoretical contributions: the joint as a multidimensional transition mechanism, an analytical matrix that can be applied in different cultural and typological situations, as long as it is tested, and two alternative joint logics: integrative and disjunctive.
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