Mekânın özü: Maddesel gerçeklik ötesi, mekânsal aura
The essence of space: Beyond material reality, spatial aura
Yazar: ESRA ECEM ÖKSÜZ
Danışman: DOÇ. DR. ELMİRA AYŞE GÜR
İstanbul Teknik Üniversitesi / Fen Bilimleri Enstitüsü / Mimarlık Ana Bilim Dalı / Mimari Tasarım Bilim Dalı
Derece: Yüksek Lisans, 2016
Konu: Mimarlık = Architecture

Özet:
Tez, aurası olmayan, hissiz fakat görüntü odaklı, sayısal ve metalaşmış mekânlara olan rahatsızlıktan dolayı ortaya çıkan bir anlam arayışıdır. Mekânı salt fiziksellikle ele almaz, bütün maddesel ve maddesel olmayan bileşenleri araştırır. Bunların birleşimlerinden doğan enerjiyi yani aurayı inceler. Bu aura insanın  mekânla  fiziksel ötesi ilişki kurmasını sağlarken, aynı zamanda insanın mekânda bıraktığı izleri de içerir. Buna göre mekânla olan iletişimde (farkında olmadan veya farkındalıkla) bütün geçmişiyle bağlantı kurulur, bu mekândaki deneyimi yoğunlaştırır. Aurası olan bir mekân kişiyi kendine çeker, lineer düşünmenin aksine anlık duygusal algıyla onu etkiler. Böyle mekânlar dokunsal mekânlardır, motivasyonu fizikselliğin altında yatar. Dokunsal mekânlar bireyin ve toplumun var oluşunu anlamlandırır ve güçlendirirler, yaşanmışlıklar oluşturur ve hayalgücünü tetikler. Oysa tamamen fizikselliğe yönelen ve sadece görmeyi yücelten bir mimari yaklaşım, zamanla insanı yalnızlaştıran ve soyutlanan bir varlık haline getirir. Anlamını kaybeder. Halbuki insan sadece fiziksel bir varlık değildir, duyguları ve kendi aurası var olan bir bütündür. 
Mekânların insanlar üzerinde değişik etkileri vardır, bu insanın algısına, o anki ruh hâline, belleğine göre değişiklik gösterebilir. Fakat yine de mekânın aurası farklı kökten gelen bir çok insanı etkilemeyi başarabilir. Bu mekânın dokunsal olmasından peydahlanmış, fiziksel ve olgusal durumların, kaynaşmaların, çakışmaların toplamı yani aurasının sonucudur. Yani bu durumda mekânın aurası çok değişkenli, kısmen kontrol edilebilen bir olgudur denebilir. Bu olgu mekânsal deneyim, aidiyet oluştururken, duygusal tepkimeyi ve hayal gücünü tetikler. İnsan mekândan etkilenir, mekânı sever veya rahat hisseder, yer duygusu oluşur. Öyle ki mekân ve insan arasında oluşan bu etkileşim, insanların tavırlarının ve kıyafetlerinin mekândan mekâna farklılık göstermesine neden olur. 
Tezin çalışmasının ilk bölümünde aura kavramının bir kullanıcı olarak bireyler için ne ifade ettiği ve bireyleri nasıl etkilediği anket yöntemiyle araştırılmıştır. Elde edilen sonuçlara göre bireyler, mekâna ait hissetmede, deneyimlemede, mekânda rahat olmada, mekânsal auranın önemli ölçüde etkili olduğunu düşünmektedir. Mekânsal auranın olmadığı yerlerde ise, mekânı terk etmek istediklerini belirtmişlerdir. 
Çalışmanın ikinci ve ana bölümünde aurası olan iki mekân, Vals Kaplıcası ve Sancaklar Camii Pallasmaa kavramları üzerinden, kişisel görüşmeyle elde edilen bireylerin deneyimi  ve mimarların tasarım yaklaşımıyla desteklenerek incelenmiştir. Yapıların duyuları ve hisleri esas alan, özgün ve tevazu gösteren tasarım yaklaşımlarının, duyusal; dolayısıyla aurası yoğun mekân oluşturduğu, kişilerin hayal gücünü tetikleyen, duygularını, aidiyetini ve anılarını oluşturan mekânlar olduğu tespit edilmiştir. 
Özet olarak, tezde auranın dinamikleri incelenmiş, kişinin dünyasal varoluşunu anlamlı halde getirdiği vurgulanmıştır. Böyle bir mekânın ise mimarın deneyimlerinden, hislerinden, hayal dünyasından feyzaldığı görülmüştür. Tez, anlamın kaybolduğu mimarlığa aslında ilkel bir pencereden bakmayı ve anlam aramayı amaçlamıştır.

Abstract:
Thesis is a search for meaning, confronting imaged focused, only numerically produced and commodified spaces without aura and without feelings. Study's space approach is not mere physical, but a circumspect position, researching material  and phenomenon based  inputs of a place. Thesis examines the energy, which is "aura" resulting from combination of these inputs.
The hegemony of visual architecture of today, presents pleasure to the eyesight. However tactile, the most primitive sense is being denied. Therefore human, both bodily and spiritually integrated being is becoming the audience instead of participant. Thus person is isolated from the space, alienated. Yet architecture in all design branches, is the most efficient act of strenghtening the earthly experience of people. Architecture does it by providing a sensual place, which has its own intense aura, stimulating all the senses. 
Aura is an energy field contituted by both material and phenomenal inputs, which attracts people, effects emotional perception and persuade them to experience the building. Thereby, by its aura the space will transmit its spirit to the people and people will connect and bond with the place. Regarding this, people will constitute emotions and will want  to spend time in there, these feelings will constitute the sense of space. The dense aura, provides an unforgettable both physical and beyond physical experiences, therefore memories. However, the corruption of integrity of the inputs will cause the aura to change. 
The aura of place is constituted by fiction of space, which includes material, light, color, form, formations and unsubstantials (sound, tempreture and odour). Thus, the physical elements cannot fully describe the aura. The fact that aura is based on both physical and phenomenal inputs, it is partly manageable. Though, the gathering of people, their visions, imaginations can maintain it. 
Spaces have different effects on people, depending on the person's perception, senses, spiritual status at the moment, identity, education and memory. However, the aura of the space is a strong instrument that can still manage to impress different type of people. In fact, this interaction between people and the space is so intense that determines the people's attitudes and even their clothes. A place's atmosphere reflects its owners identity and thus the place's identity is determined by the owner's.  
Due to variable nature of the aura, four seperate studies have been made. Searching for the following questions:
	How the spatial aura come into existence?
	Is spatial aura improvable?
	What role does spatial aura has in experiencing the space as whole?
	Is aura dynamic formation?
 In first study a group of 40 people (20 architects, 20 other branches) have been surveyed. What the concept of "aura" is meant for individuals and how it effected their space experience have been searched. According to the results individuals consider that the aura is significantly important for them to feel blonged and comfortable in the space, when experiencing the space. The results show that in the absence of the aura people tend to leave the space immediately. 
Second and main study, focuses on the spaces with aura. Vals Thermal Baths and  Sancaklar Mosque are selected examples, within the concept of aura. Both buildings are examined through Pallasmaa's  concepts which are sensory, imaginative, temporal, operant and authentic, which are extracted from the books, The Eyes of the Skin and The Encounters. Sensory concept is related to five senses, that are tactual, olfactory, gustatory and eyesight, as Pallasmaa emphasises in his works. Considering Pallasmaa's theory a building should provide these five senses, therefore sincerity occurs between the person and the building. Besides, Pallasmaa's concepts discourse on time, therefore he focuses on silent and melancholy. A building should celanse the noise and provide a silence for the person to return to his own essence. Pallasmaa place importance on shadow as well as light, even a dim atmosphere triggers the imagination. Having looked at his bodily perspective, an architecture becomes reality as much as it provides the body motion. Lastly, modest and authentic architecture examples will lead to the feeling of "home". Pallasmaa defends that the architecture that includes these concepts will become a "dialectic architecture", therefore it will encourage people to be modest, understanding and patient.  
In Vals Thermal Baths examination, the experiences that are written in literature are merged into the study. Futhermore, personal interviews have been made with there people from different cultures. Sancaklar Mosque on the other hand is newly constructed and does not take part in literatıre yet. So personal interviews have been made with three people. They have been asked to express their feelings and experiences in means of the aura of the building. It is found out that, the design approaches based on feelings and senses have provided the visitor an atmospheric space and unforgettable experience. These two buildings are examples of uniqueness, modestness and provide the person with silent to return to himself, encourage the person to wander around freely. Both using the light as a holy piece of the unity creates a mystic aura to trigger the person's imagination and lead him to the meditative state. 
These experiences overlapping Pallasmaa's concepts revealed a powerfull architectural percept. At this point, architecture is considered beyond physical and geometrical production, but a consequence of architect's intelligent, modest, imaginary, empathic tendency to create a space considering people's feelings and bodily experience. Therefore the architecture will fulfill the sensory need of the user, will provide the sense of belonging in a specific time and thereby earthly experience and will promote the people to be modest, understanding and patient.
Finally, thesis seeks to find the meaning, which is becoming rather a visionary image, through looking out a different, infact a primitive window. Therefore, the study focuses on the "essence" of the architecture, it accepts the "essence" is partly constituted by the architecture's dimensional existence, however it occurs when this dimensional thing provides the senses. Otherwise, the person will be abstracted and become distant to his erthly existence. 
In Summary, thesis examines the spatial aura, brought in to make a person's earthly existence meaningful is highlighted. Such spaces are influenced from the architect's experiences, feelings and imagination. Thesis is not after an utopia, it does not claim that architecture will solve all the earthly problems. But as Pallasmaa claims, the architecture can reveal the mystery and the magic of everything. So, the claim is that the architecture makes sens of a person's life, improves his imagination, keeps his memories and constitues the sense of belonging, and is a primitive drive from his nature, therefore architecture should remember its main purpose.