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Date of Graduation

5-2026

Description

This research explores the evolving role of the hearth in domestic architecture, examining its historical significance and its continuing symbolic, spatial, and architectural relevance. Once essential for heat, cooking, and social gathering, the hearth has gradually shifted from a functional necessity to a largely symbolic and nostalgic artifact as a result of technological advancements and changing domestic lifestyles. Despite this functional decline, the hearth persists as a powerful cultural and architectural element, deeply embedded in collective memory and the perception of home. This study reexamines the hearth’s spatial, social, and functional roles through a combined methodology of literature review, theoretical inquiry, and visual diagramming. Scholarship addressing thermal environments, interior furnishings, nostalgia, and domestic rituals reveals long-standing concern over the loss of a central domestic anchor amid rapid modernization. To ground these discussions architecturally, six architectural case studies spanning pre-modern, modern, and contemporary periods are analyzed to identify patterns, shifts, and continuities in hearth placement, use, and meaning. Through detailed diagrams, the paper offers a visual and theoretical framework to understand hearth as both a cultural artifact and architectural feature, encouraging readers to question the role of comfort, memory, and centeredness in modern homes. The findings suggest that while the hearth’s original utilitarian functions have largely been replaced, its role as a locus of comfort, memory, and centeredness within the home remains intact. Rather than advocating for a literal return to open-fire heating, this research positions the hearth as a conceptual and spatial device capable of fostering well-being, community, and emotional grounding. Ultimately, this research advocates for a renewed understanding of the hearth in contemporary domestic architecture, encouraging architects to reclaim its latent social and cultural potential as housing continues to evolve.

Publication Date

2026

Document Type

Book

Degree Name

Bachelor of Architecture

Degree Level

Undergraduate

Department

Art

Advisor/Mentor

Messadi, Tahar

Disciplines

Architecture

Keywords

Art and Design

Rekindling Hearth: An Investigation and Discussion of the Traditional and Evolving Roles of Hearth in Architecture

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Architecture Commons

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