The 6ICCH proved to be prolific for the discipline of Construction History; not only was it the last real conference before the start of the Pandemic, but also the official announcement of the foundation of the International Federation of Construction History (IFCH) raised new hopes for the progress of the field by providing a solid ground for better collaboration among its seven members from the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, USA, France, Germany, and Portugal. These members who were equipped with a habitual practice of research on the history of construction in their regions, were essentially from Western countries. In other words, other building cultures in the world were underrepresented in this initiative. As scholars familiar with the histories of architecture in Asia, we consider the establishment of an academic basis for networking on the history of construction in Asia of great benefit for professional and academic communities. Indeed, Asian architects and building engineers based in Asia or researching on Asia can broaden their perspectives and widen their horizons through properly addressing the histories and cultural heritages of their regions—not to mention that the act of building is always cultural. To be more specific, the act of studying, recording, and transferring the knowledge of building produced, developed, and employed by the historic architects and engineers of Asia can enrich the perspectives of present-day architects towards the topic of construction. The importance of establishing an academic network for researching the history of construction in Asia can be viewed from two perspectives, including environmental aspects and human-related parameters.
The first category, environmental aspects, includes geography and climate. The seismic hazard map of Asia reveals that the Alpine-Himalayan belt, which stretches from the southeast and central Asia all the way to the Iranian Plateau, Asia Minor, and central Europe, passes through many regions of Asia and its numerous active faults pose a constant life-threatening hazard. On the other hand, the climate classification map of Asia and the extant literature of historical Asia inform us that the majority of Asian territories have intensively suffered from climate conditions and natural circumstances; whether it is the arid climate and intense sunlight, seasonal downpours, great temperature fluctuations, or even Typhoons. These facts remind us that: to contend with severe environmental conditions of their territories, Asian civilizations developed practical techniques to protect themselves against natural catastrophes. Many of these novel techniques have not yet been studied or recognized. Not to mention that present-day architects and engineers can learn many great lessons from these simple yet practical methods employed by their predecessors.
With respect to the second category, human-related parameters, it is notable that highly sophisticated urbanized cultures appeared first in Asia. These ancient civilizations gave birth to different fields of science such as metallurgy, mathematics, algebra, and etc. These achievements would be of greater significance for construction historians when one considers the advent of architectural masterpieces, as well as some precursors of modern engineering achievements in Asia. Unfortunately, Hellenocentrism have prevented scholars from studying these unique achievements sufficiently. The particular type of relationships (geopolitical, cultural, and economical) established between different civilizations of Asia is yet another important factor that needs to be considered in any assessment of human-related parameters in Asia. Throughout history, Asian civilizations were intermittently influenced by incursions from beyond their borders. In this respect, the formation of the Achaemenid Empire as the first World-Empire, the Mongol invasion, the sovereignty of the Ottoman Empire, and particularly the advent of Islam, which was brought also to North Africa and Europe are notable examples. Similarly, we witness Western colonialism in Asia, whereby various European nations explored, conquered, and exploited large regions of the continent. These invasions vastly influenced the quality and direction of human lives in Asia. The essence and interactional aspects within this acculturation process, as well as the technological transmission channels that enabled such enormous undertakings, have not yet been fully recognized or articulated. The academic research in this new arena of study requires teamwork. More importantly, the knowledge about architectural heritage of local societies or geographical regions can play an important role in preventing the self-alienation observable in the architecture of many regions of Asia.
Looking back at the establishment of ACHN, the significance of proper timing becomes clear. Indeed, the establishment of a group devoted particularly to study the history of construction in Asia would not have been feasible 10 years ago. This can be understood by scrutinizing the papers published in the proceedings of the former rounds of International Congress on Construction History. From the first to the third rounds, these congresses (1ICCH-3ICCH) only had a handful (5-7) of participants from Asia or conducting research on the building crafts of Asia show up. The number of interested parties increased drastically in the 4ICCH, as the Paris Congress (2012) attracted more than 20 participants focused on topics related to Asia. The beginning of the 2010s also witnessed new opportunities to teach history of construction on a large scale. “The Erasmus Intensive Summer School in Construction History” (2011-3) was organized jointly by the University of Cambridge (UK), Université Libre de Bruxelles (Belgium), and Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Belgium), Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus (Germany), and Bundeswehr University (Germany). This provided Asian students the chance to actively participate in various training courses on the history of Construction. Later, these students became voice or face of the Construction History discipline in their local communities. Today, Ph.D. students from Asia trained in the West have grown to early-stage scholars in the academic atmosphere of their respective countries. They seek to introduce the discipline in their countries, as well as establish university courses on their topic of interest, with growing support from senior scholars in Europe, America and Asia. All the above shows that the development of a network on the History of Construction in Asia inevitably required time to reach its maturity.
The development of new groups and associations similar to ACHN demonstrates the essential role of teamworking, as well as relying on an achievable plan in their advancement, particularly at an early stage. This requires a team of enthusiastic founding members who work closely and hand in hand, thereby pushing the boundaries of knowledge on the history of construction in Asia and building up on their existing resources. We, as the founding members of the ACHN, intend to address the following challenges and make contributions:
Advance the scholarship and leadership of the construction history discipline, especially the empirical and theoretical studies about historical built environments in Asia
Promote research and education about the history of construction in Asia and the related knowledge
Foster open, scientific and transdisciplinary dialogues with other scientific and professional communities
Enhance transnational understanding and international cooperation and collaboration among scholars
Support the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and engage with contemporary societies
Keeping an eye on the future prospects of ACHN, “Asian” is a key element that defines the group’s unique role, voice, and mission. ACHN should maintain close links with ICCH, CHS, SAH, as well as other similar societies, to receive support or advice, and to facilitate research on the history of construction in Asia. Similarly, joint efforts should be targeted toward the unification and support of isolated research on the history of construction in Asia. The study of unique architectural contributions of Asia should be the focus of attention; the distinguished role of Asian architects and engineers in the advancement of building techniques, as well as their real place in the realm of construction history should be highlighted. Furthermore, the important role of ordinary construction practitioners – anonymous heroes – and their contributions towards the unique achievements of famous Asian architects and engineers should not be ignored.
By forging the term “Asian Construction History”, the Network engages “Asian” as an adjective describing a particular type of “Construction History” related to Asia or its people, culture, and tradition. Hence, not only does it promote research on the history of construction in Asia, but also allows overseas Asians, as well as Asian immigrants in Australia, Europe, and North America to study the influence of Asian architects and engineers on the progress or advancement of building techniques in oversea regions. In conclusion, the mission of ACHN can be described as: promoting research on the history of construction in Asia internationally, as well as enhancing Asian networking and academic cooperation in the sphere of Asian construction history. It should be emphasized that whilst the history of building construction is a thriving and growing discipline, the subject’s richness can only be enhanced by the confluence of various fields. Therefore, ACHN supports and indeed encourages interdisciplinary research.