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Open House International: Sustainable & Smart Architecture and Urban Studies (OHI) is an interdisciplinary research journal in architecture, building technology, housing, urban design and planning.

ISSN: 0168-2601
eISSN: 2633-9838

Aims and scope

Open House International: Sustainable & Smart Architecture and Urban Studies (OHI) is an interdisciplinary research journal in built environment studies speaking to the disciplines and areas of interest in architecture, building technology, housing, urban design and planning. The journal aims at establishing effective links between theory and design and education and practice in these fields. Placing emphasis on international collaboration, and global south/global north dialectics, the key objectives of the journal are to:

  • Promote research and practice towards addressing the full spectrum of sustainable development and whenever possible relate to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs). 
  • Improve the quality of built environment through encouraging greater sharing of decision making by ordinary people. It also aims at developing the necessary institutional frameworks, which will support the local initiatives of parties in the housing and place production processes. 

OHI publishes articles in the following two areas as they relate to the built environment. 

  1. Socially and culturally sustainable architecture and urbanism
    This area involves a range of topics that include action planning; affordable homes; building and urban design; building design & planning for social sustainability; culture and built form; gender issues in design; habitat agenda; housing planning and production; slum improvement and redevelopment; socio-spatial justice; user participation; vernacular architecture and self-built housing development.
  2. Built environment tectonics and technologies
    This area involves topics that include building technologies and materiality; building performance and energy simulation and conservation strategies; environmental planning and design; open building; prefabrication and industrialisation; restoration and conservation technologies; tectonics of traditional and contemporary architecture; and application of information technologies in design and construction processes.

Brief history of Open House International: Sustainable & Smart Architecture and Urban Studies

Open House International: Sustainable & Smart Architecture and Urban Studies was founded by Nicholas Wilkinson in 1976 and acquired by Emerald in 2020. For more than four decades, Prof. Wilkinson led the Journal until sadly passing away in 2017. Prof. Ashraf Salama has been a collaborating editor since 2006 and Prof. Yonca Hurol has been the international technical editor of the journal since 2010.

With the transition to Emerald, we aim to strengthen ties among scholars worldwide, diversify our content, and address issues of concern to the global community of architects and planners working in built environment-related fields.