The symbolic content of the city in modern architectural culture: analysis of theory

Abstract

The article presents a review of scientific, philosophical and artistic pieces regarding the content of the notion "city". The city in common and its architectural environment component in certain are not representing the material culture only: as spheres which express social values, carry certain information and form persistent images in the collective identity, they are also representing the spiritual culture. The purpose of the study is to find those aspects of the city informational content, which are the most readable and applicable in the urban context on the level of practice. The perception of the city natural landscape characteristics and vital elements of its planning structure which occur there from the ancient times until nowadays in various cultures of the world are under attention. The research procedure includes study of bibliographic sources and internet resources, theories analysis and synthesis, and partially hermeneutic and phenomenological methods of philosophical cognition. The content of the natural and human-made elements of the city environment are expressed in the notions of archetype and the city text. As a result, city conceptual fabric is approved as a category need to be studied and taken into consideration in the design process. The aim is to create a sustainable environment corresponding to both physical comfort parameters, human consciousness parameters and universal cultural values. The importance of research is promotion of synthesis of theories and researches of immaterial nature of the city to development of the holistic meaningful value-oriented approach to architectural and city designing.