Children’s participation in built environment design: the case of “Play Without Barriers” project

Since participation theory became a crucial issue in various disciplines after late 1960’s, creating actual participatory processes generated an important question of debate. Today, in recent conditions the validity of urban design or local governing policies are evaluated depending on how much importance they attached to participatory approaches and social governance models. The earlier individuals start to involve participation into their lives, the more conscious they become. Therefore, participatory projects should consider the existence of youth and children in urban life and built environment design. This paper discusses the effects of built-environment education on the young participants while introducing a brief explanation of an educational model named “Play Without Barriers” (PWB), supported by several shareholders and which is designed also as a child participation project. PWB is a long term project which expanded into three years and came up with concrete results such as a playground project designed by its users, children, who participated a 27 week long educational program. From the beginning of the project, the participants (children aged between 8-14) found the chance to work with all of these shareholders, represent their ideas and get involved in the whole process. The general outline of the paper includes a literature review on the pros and cons of built environment education and participatory design, discussion of a case study (PWB) while mentioning the methods used in the education and application phases of this project, followed by a criticism of the process and declaration of the outcomes.Publisher's Versio

Cumhuriyet sonrası Kayseri'de modernleşme: Mekansal ve toplumsal değişim

Modernization experience after the foundation of Turkish Republic could be comprehended as a shifting process on spatial and social identity, rather than a political re-construction. It was aimed to renovate whole life styles and figures by Republican revolutions. Modernization process and modernity phenomenon, which were linked with the ideology of the French and Industrial (English) Revolutions, motivated these social and political reformations. As a result of these, renovation of the political order by modernization also affected spatial and social identity. There were three different effects on space. First of all, identifying homeland by sustaining territories of national state after The Turkish Independence War with its reasons and results; secondarily, re-construction -in other words urbanization- of the Anatolian cities: and reformations on the housing form, its usage and construction. Particularly, urbanization and housing were the main issues of that period. Modern' life-style was desired by illustrations and articles on contemporary houses and their usage for creating a change on daily habits, like dressing or writing-reading attitudes. Besides these, private enterprises were supported for establishing factories for industrialization and economic development. However, by the effects of the 1930 World Economic Crisis, modernization approach were updated due to sustaining its reconstructions, and Turkish-State integrated its reforms on social life and  spatial order with industrialization, and construct factories which embodied residences, schools, markets, sportive and cultural spaces. It could be said that State affected the modernization process of the cities with their inhabitants. The residences and social spaces classified and identified the social culture and architectural context by its spatial renovations. The establishments trained their laborers and their families and defined them with their abilities in a contemporary aspect. According to this approach, Kayseri was the one of the significant cities of Turkey, which this state-based industrialization process has been firstly exercised: In 1926, Tayyare (Plane) Factory, as the first establishment of the Turkish heavy industry, and in 1935, Sümerbank Textile Factory, as the first state based industrial organization, were founded in the city. Furthermore, a Sugar Factory was established in 1955 by cooperation of municipality and state. These factories introduced new approaches to housing and to daily life by including educational, sportive and cultural facilities. Their residences and the houses constructed by workers cooperatives led to a chance in the urban identity and motivated the urbanization of the city by the contrasts of the form and spatial order. This improvement could be evaluated as an urban and spatial reformation, which also affected daily life, habits and interactions. Therefore this study is intended to evaluate and criticize the modernization process after Turkish Republic and the sustainability of its 'modern' identity from comprehending the spatal and social change by examining the dwellings around these three industrial settlements in Kayseri and their social order. This study is aimed to analyze this shifting process in the urban life by spatially and socially. First of all, the avant-garde forms and spaces of these industrial establishments and their housing settlements are examined.  According to this survey, their urban and spatial orders are compared with traditional environment to clarify the effects on space and its construction. Although, their housing forms are not only observed as a spatial or cultural artifact, but their urban pattern characteristics and spatial qualities are also examined. Moreover, cultural and social activities are discussed as well as housing types and their usage, for evaluating the change on identity of the people and their relationships. In-depth interviews and their content analyses are used for evaluating the effects on housing, urban form and social order. It is focused on the spatial usage of the residences and cooperative housings with cultural, educational and sportive activities in the interviews, done with people, who lived- worked in these industry settlements and citizens from city that visit there severally. According to this approach, this study aims to criticize the effects of these three state-based industrial settlements in Kayseri and their housing settlements on the modernization process; spatial and social change of the city, through the modernization experience of early Turkish Republic. Keywords: Modernization, Kayseri, housing, urbanization, identity.Cumhuriyet sonrası modernleşme deneyiminin, siyasal olarak yeni bir yapılanma niteliği taşımasının ötesinde, mekânsal ve toplumsal kimliği etkileyen değişimler içerdiği söylenebilir. Yaşama alışkanlıklarının ve biçimin her alanında yenilenme içeren devrimler ile ‘modern’ kimliğin inşası hedeflenmiştir. Bu kapsamda, devletin değişim ve kalkınma hedeflerini bir araya getirerek kurduğu sanayi yerleşkeleri, Anadolu kentlerindeki mekânsal ortamın ve toplumsal yapının yenilenmesine katkı sağlamıştır. Kayseri, devletin -bu amaçla- ilk sanayi yatırımlarını gerçekleştirdiği kenttir. Ülkenin ilk ağır sanayi yatırımı olarak kurulan Tayyare (uçak) Fabrikası (1926), devlet merkezli yapılanmanın ilk örneği Sümerbank Bez Fabrikası (1935) ve Şeker Fabrikası (1955), yarattıkları iş olanakları ve barınmadan eğitime sundukları hizmetler ile kentleşme sürecini, konutun biçimi ile üretimini ve sosyal ortamı etkilemişlerdir. Özellikle lojmanlar ve çevrelerinde çalışanlarınca kurulan kooperatifler ile devam eden konutlar, ortaya çıkardıkları biçimsel ve kurgusal farklılık ile kentin gelişimine ve kimliğin değişimine yön vermiştir. Modernlik olgusunun birey merkezli tartışmaları, içerdiği farklılık arayışı ve ortaya çıkardığı kriz hali ile devletin sanayi yatırımlarını kurarken ve işletirken ortaya koyduğu yöntem arasındaki çelişki, Türkiye Modernleşmesi’nin kendine has bir deneyim olarak kavranmasını gerektirmektedir. Bu bakışla çalışma kapsamında, Türkiye’de Cumhuriyet’in ilanı sonrası modernleşme deneyimine bağlı olarak, Kayseri’de devlet tarafından kurulmuş bu üç işletme ve çevrelerinde gelişen konut yerleşimlerinin, kentteki modernleşme sürecine, mekânsal ve toplumsal değişime etkilerinin incelemesi amaçlanmıştır. Anahtar Kelimeler: Modernleşme, Kayseri, konut, kentleşme, kimlik

Mimari formun evrim anlatısı ve canlı form hali

The concept of form in architectural design has been debated since prehistoric times. In its most straightforward meaning, form can be defined as the shape, shell, and inhabited volume of a structure. This study aims to explore the historical process of the transformation and evolution of form, as well as to discover new meanings and potentials of form through analysis, and to develop a critical perspective on form. The study is structured around three main axes. In the first stage, a mapping is designed to analyze the evolution of form throughout history. This mapping focuses on the changes in the approach to form, design, and making techniques chronologically. This stage reveals that form is no longer merely a final product represented by drawings or statically produced, but rather a concept that involves process and dynamism in a temporal-spatial dimension, whether in its design or production. In the second stage, the evolution of form is discussed through a new concept called ‘vital form’. While form represents something static or stationary, vital form signifies a dynamic and fluid state. While form is symbolically designed or produced by the designer from top to bottom, vital form represents a bottom-up, autonomous state formed by the influence of actors involved in design or production. Subsequently, the relationships, transitions, interactions, and changes between form and vital form, as well as their interpretations, are discussed within the proposed model in the study, based on conceptual sets derived from theoretical debates and the implications in design and making processes. It is believed that such exploration and awareness of form in architecture will bring new dimensions to the contemporary understanding, design, and making practices of form.Mimarlık tasarımında form kavramı, tarih öncesi dönemlerden beri tartışılmaktadır. En yalın haliyle, form, yapının şekli, kabuğu, içinde yaşanan hacim olarak ifade edilebilir. Çalışmada hedeflenen, tarihsel süreçteki formun değişimini ve evrimini analiz ederek yeni anlamlarını ve potansiyellerini keşfedebilmek ve form üzerine eleştirel bir bakış açısı geliştirebilmektir. Bu hedef doğrultusunda çalışma üç ana eksen üzerinde kurgulanmıştır. İlk aşamada, tarihsel süreçte formun evrimini analiz etmek için tasarlanmış bir haritalama yer almaktadır. Bu haritalama ile kronolojik olarak, formun ele alınış biçimindeki değişimler, form tasarım ve üretim tekniklerine odaklanılarak tartışılmaktadır. Bu aşama ile, formun artık sadece çizimlerle temsil edilen ya da statik olarak üretilen nihai bir ürün olmadığı, aksine zaman-mekânsal bir düzlemde, tasarımında ya da üretiminde süreç ve dinamizm içeren bir kavram olduğu anlaşılmaktadır. İkinci aşamada ise, formun evrimi 'canlı form' (vital form) olarak ifade edilen yeni bir kavram üzerinden tartışılmaktadır. Form, statik veya durağanı temsil ederken, canlı form, dinamik ve devingen bir hal tarif etmektedir. Form, tasarımcı tarafından yukarıdan aşağıya sembolik olarak tasarlanan veya oluşturulanı ifade ederken, canlı form, tasarım veya üretimine etkide bulunan aktörlerin etkisiyle aşağıdan yukarıya oluşan, otonom olan bir hal ifade etmektedir. Ardından, çalışma kapsamında önerilen model üzerinde, form ve canlı form arasındaki ilişkiler, geçişler, etkileşimler, değişimler; kuramsal tartışmalardan elde edilen kavram setleri ve üretim, tasarım süreçlerindeki açılımları birlikte ele alınmakta ve yorumlanmaktadır. Mimarlıkta forma ilişkin böyle bir okumanın, farkındalığın, günümüz form kavrayışına, tasarlama ve üretme pratiklerine yeni açılımlar getireceğine inanılmaktadır.Publisher's Versio

A spatial approach to boundary concept: an analysis on Ankara Bahçelievler

Sınırlar üzerine bir çalışma mekânın boşluktan fazlası olduğunun anlaşılmasını ve mimarlığın ilişkiler anlamında yorumlanmasını sağlar. Farklı düzeylerde düşünmeyi destekleyerek peyzaj, şehir, sokak, ev, oda gibi ölçekler arası bağlantıların kurulmasına olanak verir. İnsanın baştan beri var olan sınır oluşturma, ilişkileri kurma isteğine bakmak, sınır mantığının algılanmasını sağlayacaktır. Sınırlar üzerine kuramsal bir zemin oluşturulan bu çalışmada, diğer bağlantılı kavramlar konut ve yerleşme başlığında 20. yüzyılın ilk yarısında yaşanan büyük değişimler göz önüne alınarak açılmıştır. Mekânsal ilişkiler açısından sınır üzerine bir analiz Ankara Bahçelievler’deki ilk planlı toplu konut yerleşimi çerçevesinde tanımlanmıştır. Analizin ulaştığı sonuç bu yerleşimdeki sınır olasılıklarının değerini ve değişimlerini ortaya koyar niteliktedir. Anahtar Kelimeler: Mekânsal sınırlar, modernizm, yerleşme, konut.A study on ?boundary concept? provides to understand that space is more than emptiness and orients towards interpreting the architecture as relationships. Forming a theoretical background on boundaries considering the effective changes seen on the first half of the 20th century among the house and settlement focusing human-boundary relations, is the main goal of this study. For discussing the boundary with in this frame an analysis is defined at the scope of the settlement in Ankara Bahçelievler as the first step of toady?s Bahçelievler district. The analysis focusing the settlement, street and the house, is formed in order to understand how the boundaries has been designed, constructed and changed with in these different levels. Working for defining and determining the relationships, boundaries are the tools for social, political and economical order and held by their other meanings in nature, philosophy and architecture. Within this base, spatial boundaries are explained by the concepts like dwelling, inside-outside, closure-opening, transition, entrance and direction. As boundary forms an emphasis on space-human relationship, explaining perception, cognitive mapping, territorial space, personal space and privacy concepts are very important in order to understand how these are working with the boundaries. Being a corporative ?garden city? example that was planned out of the main city and the first housing corporation of the country, Bahçelievler and complete structure of the settlement is a very special case. The results of the analysis display the value of boundary conditions and the role of changes in this neighbourhood from its beginning till today. Keywords: Spatial boundaries, modernism, settlement, house

The Ethos of mid-century modern in Istanbul and San Francisco: a comparative reading on Levent houses and Eichler Homes

[No abstract available]ScopusAffiliation ID: 6001047

The porosity of borders: between formal and informal urban patterns

Urban spaces developed with formal and informal settlements that have varied permeability features are the places where any social, cultural and ethnic communities cohabit in a heterogeneous arrangement. Both formal/regular and informal/spontaneous modes of spatial production lead to changes in socio-economic and spatial relationships within the city. Planned and unplanned housing patterns intersect and are juxtaposed in time. The seam lines between the various parts of the patchwork-like settlements show different qualities in terms of transition characteristics, creating different patterns for the use of public and private space and spatial discontinuity. Therefore, fragmentation and disconnection are encountered between different social groups at the intersection of formal and informal residential settlements. The differences make the borders meaningful, however, to eliminate discontinuities in terms of creating quality urban environments; the boundaries should be more blurred, ambiguous and even seamless. Porosity/permeability characteristics of the borders as indicators of ambiguity strengthen the potentials of in-between space to increase communication and interaction providing urban fluidity. In the scope of the research, to analyze the connection/intersection of various formal/informal housing patterns in Istanbul in terms of their spatial and social dimensions, a comparative and mutual assessment is conducted. Creative approaches and bottom-up models of different countries related to the porosity characteristics of in-between zones are concluded along with the findings of the field study related to the theoretical framework.Publisher's Versio

Evaluative, inclusive, participatory: Developing a new language with children for school building design

This paper emphasises the attribute of Post Occupancy Evaluation (POE) in school (re) design by extending the research toward genuine participation and evaluation. It aims to re-conceptualise “child’s participation” through exploring its relationship with POE by observing child-built environment connection and by demonstrating how children engage with the problems of school design. This empirically grounded research presents eight workshops with three different schools in Albania. It explores the process, outcomes, challenges, and opportunities during the active involvement of a total of 502 children aged 10–14 years old. The research incorporates a multiplicity of techniques from both creative and evaluative methods: essays, wish poem, drawing, model making, poster design, visual/POE questionnaire and walk-through are some that ensure a comprehensive achievement of children in the process. The study confirms the utility of participation in school design as a tool to propose child-oriented spaces. Within the results, six design concepts of the desired school building of children are identified. These are flexibility, horizontality, campus-like environment, transparency, accessibility, and ecological concept. We propose a participation language based on the experience, perception, imagination, and active involvement of the children in the learning environments. It concludes that children participation builds upon a spatial experience which lies on the child-school relationship. Language is dynamic and allows researchers and designer to edit and annotate whenever needed, but by always referring to the school of children active and present in participation. It emphasises the POE-participation connection and to further open the discourse of participation to the Albanian public.Publisher's Versio

A hierarchical definitional framework for a heterogeneous context: housing typologies in Tirana, Albania

Purpose: The proposed definitional framework can be used to define housing typologies of cities in developing countries. It aims to define housing typologies in the capital city of Albania, Tirana, using the proposed hierarchical framework within the dynamics of four political periods: Ottoman, establishment, socialist and postsocialist. Design/methodology/approach: This study proposes a new definitional approach for the housing typologies through a hierarchical framework that defines the typologies based on their political period and legality statuses departing from the case of Tirana, which is featured by a heterogeneous context. Such context is characterized by uncontrollable urban development, making typology definition problematic. Furthermore, beyond the form, spatial and functional features, it presents their exterior distinctiveness as an innovative element. The methodology used in the study includes archival research, image documentation, spatial, functional and exterior distinctiveness analysis of housing typologies and exploration of housing form features in different political periods. Findings: The study identifies urban formal housing typologies in Tirana detached houses, apartments, mass housing, social housing, gated communities, informal detached houses and housing with in/formal additions. Originality/value: This definitional approach can be used to define housing typologies for cities featured by heterogeneous urban context.Publisher's Versio

Impact of excessive sedimentation caused by anthropogenic activities on benthic suspension feeders in the Sea of Marmara

A massive die-off of benthic suspension feeders (BSF) covered by large amounts of sediments was observed along Prince Islands coasts (north-eastern Sea of Marmara) in August 2015. Alcyonarians, pennatulaceans, bivalves and sponges were severely affected. Many BSF probably died from burial and clogging of their feeding and respiratory apparatus. Of the gorgonian colonies, 66 +/- 34% (mean +/- SD) were dead, while 15 +/- 16% (mean +/- SD) displayed recent necrosis on the colony surface. In addition, histopathological and microbial examinations of the affected gorgonians and gold corals (Savalia savaglia) suggest that stress caused by sedimentation made them vulnerable to exploitation by consistently isolated opportunistic microorganisms. We isolated Vibrio splendidus and Vibrio neptunius from diseased gold coral colonies, but the bacterial isolates obtained from gorgonians could only be identified to genus Vibrio level. The presumably artificially introduced fungus Mucor circinelloides was common on both gold coral and gorgonians. This mould and opportunistic bacteria may have colonized BSF by taking advantage of low oxygen levels leading to impaired coral immune responses and thereby exacerbated the BSF mortality. Construction and landfill operations at Yassiada seem to be the greatest contributor to the observed sedimentation, as shown by silicate concentrations in nearby waters. These observations imply that preventive measures are necessary when construction operations take place in the vicinity of sensitive marine habitats