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Building Documents: Considering the Role of Document Theory in Experiencing the Built Environment

Ablett, O. (2025). Building Documents: Considering the Role of Document Theory in Experiencing the Built Environment. (Unpublished Doctoral thesis, City St George's, University of London)

Abstract

Document theory has expanded beyond the understanding of information organisation and retrieval, semiotics, and sociocultural contexts of documentation into an understanding of objects as documents, multimedia, and digital documentation, and how documents function. Drawing on the work of academics, theorists, and theories including Briet’s What is Documentation? (1951a), Buckland’s concept of ‘information as thing’ (1991b), Lund’s definition of ‘documental meaning’ (2010), and Gorichanaz and Latham’s ‘Phenomenological Structure of Documental Becoming’ (2016), this research considers how buildings can be considered documents from this perspective, and seeks to answer the question, “what are the benefits and challenges to considering buildings and the built
environment as documents?”

The mixed-methods approach taken by this study, including a Delphi study (outlined in §3, which the literature review suggests is a novel approach in LIS research), a new theoretical model (detailed in §4), and a desk-based review of a series of case studies (explored in §5), offers quantifiable evidence that buildings can function as documents, addressing a gap in the academic literature as well as laying the foundation for further studies that could expand into new types of document.

By using examples of extant and extinct buildings to illustrate the new model for reading buildings as documents, this research provides tangible examples that illustrate the concept and highlights how the built environment documents historical, cultural, and functional transformations as evolving records rather than static structures. The interdisciplinary approach taken will help those working in and studying building design to consider their role as ‘authors’ rather than solely designers through a framework for considering buildings not just as physical spaces but as repositories for semiotic meaning through codes embedded in buildings’ materials and volumes, while considering the impact of the built environment on its wider context (and vice versa). It is also anticipated that this research will be of use to LIS scholars interested in the theorisation and empirical study of documentation and document theory, those working in or studying the digital humanities, and semioticians.

Above all, this project uses document theory to challenge traditional views of building preservation, moving from treating the built environment as a fixed artefact into evolving, dynamic documents. It will help inform architectural conservation practices and influence
decisions on restoration, adaptive reuse, curation, ongoing management, and future publication.

Publication Type: Thesis (Doctoral)
Subjects: D History General and Old World > D History (General)
T Technology > TH Building construction
Z Bibliography. Library Science. Information Resources
Z Bibliography. Library Science. Information Resources > ZA Information resources
Departments: School of Communication & Creativity > Media, Culture & Creative Industries > Library & Information Science
School of Communication & Creativity > School of Communication & Creativity Doctoral Theses
Doctoral Theses
[thumbnail of thesis (following corrections)2 (1).pdf] Text - Accepted Version
This document is not freely accessible until 31 July 2028 due to copyright restrictions.

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