Gerilim ve refleks alanı olarak kamusal mekan tasarımı
Public space design as an area of tension and reflex
Yazar: ÇAĞLAR YILMAZ
Danışman: DOÇ. DR. OZAN ÖNDER ÖZENER
İstanbul Teknik Üniversitesi / Fen Bilimleri Enstitüsü / Mimarlık Ana Bilim Dalı / Mimari Tasarım Bilim Dalı
Derece: Yüksek Lisans, 2018
Konu: Mimarlık = Architecture
Dizin: Kamusal mekanlar = Public places ; Kent mimarisi = Urban architecture ; Kentsel mekan = Urban space ; Kentsel tasarım = Urban design ; Mimari tasarım = Architectural design ; Yarı kamusal alan = Semi-public space ; Özel ve kamusal yarar = Private and public interest

Özet:
Günümüz kentlerinin gündelik yaşamı ve kamusal karakteri, birçok farklı ve çeşitli toplumsal, kültürel ve ekonomik girdilerle ve bu girdiler arasındaki karmaşık ilişkilerle belirlenmektedir. Bunların yanında, söz konusu kentin gündelik hayatının geçtiği kamusal mekânların nasıl tasarlandığı, bu alanların kentsel yaşamı nasıl çevrelediği de önemli bir faktör olarak belirginleşmekte ve bu bağlamda, kamusal alanların nasıl bir tasarım yaklaşımıyla ele alındığının, kentlerin sosyal yaşantıları ile nasıl ilişkiler kurulduğunun incelenmesi de yüksek potansiyelli bir araştırma alanı olarak öne çıkmaktadır.

Bu tez çalışması kapsamında, kenti şekillendiren temel girdiler bağlamında günümüz kamusal mekân tasarım eğilimlerinin incelenmesi üzerinde durulmaktadır. Söz konusu tasarım eğilimleri özellikle kamusal ortamda görülen tartışmalı konular üzerinden ve otorite-birey ilişkilerindeki olası çatışmalar çerçevesinden ele alınmakta ve bu doğrultuda, kamusal alanda tanımlanabilecek problemlerin güncel kamusal mekân tasarım pratiklerine nasıl yansıdığı sorusu derinlemesine irdelenmektedir. Çalışmanın amacı, güncel kamusal mekân tasarım yaklaşımlarının incelenebilmesi için kuramsal bir altlığın oluşturulması, daha sonra da bu altlık yardımıyla bir okumanın kamusal alan kavramı içerisinde örneklendirilmesi olarak özetlenebilir.

Tez içerisinde güncel kamusal mekân tasarım eğilimleri, çalışma boyunca üretilen ve kendi özgün anlamları ve ilişkilerine sahip kavramlar yardımıyla irdelenmeye çalışılmıştır. Çalışmanın ilk bölümünde kentsel mekânda birey ve otoritenin kenti şekillendirme arzularını ve bu arzuların olası çatışmalarını temsil eden 'etki' ve 'tepki' kavramlarından yola çıkılarak 'gerilim' ve 'refleks' kavramları ortaya konulmuştur. Böylece 'gerilim ve refleks' alanı olarak kamusal mekân tasarımı tanıtılmakta ve söz konusu kuramsal altlık elde edilmektedir. Öncelikle kentsel mekânı şekillendirme olanaklarına sahip otorite unsurlarının kenti düzenleme ve denetleme çabaları 'etki' kavramı içinde ele alınmaktadır. Bu çabaların karşısında yer alan, yaratıcılık dâhilinde kentsel yaşamda değişimi arzulayan girişimler ise 'tepki' kavramı dâhilinde irdelenmektedir. Kenti şekillendirme arzularının olası zıtlıkları ve çatışmaları 'gerilim' kavramıyla, bu 'gerilim'lere yöneltilen tasarım yaklaşımları ise 'refleks' kavramıyla incelenmektedir. Bu kavramlar yardımıyla yapılan okumalara göre, kamusal mekânı şekillendirmek için gösterilen her türlü tasarım çabası, kamusal alanda gözlemlenebilen 'gerilim'lere o ya da bu şekilde yanıt vermektedir. Bu yanıtlar kentsel mekânda 'etki' dâhilinde kamusallığı düzenleme ve baskılama eğilimini ya da bu eğilimlerin karşısında konumlanan 'tepki' yaklaşımlarını ifade edebilmektedir. 

Çalışmanın ikinci bölümünde ise, oluşturulan kuramsal çerçeve doğrultusunda iki adet güncel 'gerilim' alanı seçilerek bu alanla ilgili tasarım yaklaşımları üzerinde durulmuş ve örnek uygulamalar yardımıyla detaylı analizler yapılmıştır. Bu alanlar ise 'ortaklık ve anıtsallık' ekseninde ve 'yürüme deneyimi' ekseninde kamusal mekân tasarımı olarak belirlenmiştir. Kamusal mekânda toplanma eylemi ve meydan tipolojileriyle doğrudan bağlantılı 'ortaklık ve anıtsallık' alt başlığında, meydan tipolojilerinde süregelen anıtsallık üzerinden mekânı kurma eğilimleri, değişen 'ortaklık' tanımları üzerinden sorunlaştırılmıştır. 'Yürüme deneyimi' ile ilgili olarak ise, kentin sokaklarında özel alan ve kamusal alan sınırları üzerine 'kapanma' kavramının açılımları üzerinden gidilmektedir. İki alan için de örnek uygulamalar aracılığıyla karşılaştırmalar ve analizler üretilmekte ve görselleştirilerek ifade edilmiştir.

Abstract:
Daily public life of cities is determined by many variables such as economic and cultural inputs and complex relationships between these areas. In addition, specific design approaches that shapes the public spaces and frames the public life, emerges as another important factor. In this context, examining the public space design approaches and efforts to connect with social life of cities, appears to form an area of research which is rich with potential.

In the context of this thesis, the research is focused on contemporary public space design approaches, as basic inputs that shape the cities. These design tendencies, are especially approached through the controversial issues in public space and possible authority-individual conflicts, in order to determine possible reflections of problems in public space, upon the design processes. Therefore, the aim of this study is to create a theoretical framework for analyzing current public space design approaches, and then to illustrate a reading with the help of this framework in the concept of public space.

The thesis study was conducted within a methodological framework which could be evaluated within the qualitative research paradigms. In this context, research and analysis and evaluation processes that support each other in theoretical terms were followed. Therefore, research method of the thesis can be summarized as theoretical resource analysis and critical evaluations to form the conceptual framework of the theses in the first phase, and analysis, comparison and analysis of selected sample applications by typological reading method in the second phase. In this context, the typological reading method approach, is the visualization of the selected examples, the expression of the functional sub-fields with these visuals, and the elaboration of the complex relations between the differences and dualities in design tendencies.

In the thesis, current public space design tendencies are examined through concepts that have been produced throughout the study and have their own specific meanings and relations. In the first phase of the research, desires of authority and individuals to shape the cities and possible conflicts between these desires are represented with concepts of 'action' and 'reaction', which acts as a basis to form the concepts of 'tension' and 'reflex' in urban space. Therefore, public space design as an area of 'tension' and 'reflex' is introduced as the mentioned theoretical framework.

According to the conceptual framework which is introduced in this research, 'action' represents the authoritarian behavior to limit and pressure the urban space to a specific standard in efforts to design the public space. On the other hand, 'reaction' can be summarized as the tendencies of individuals to change the physicality of the city according to their desires, by manipulating the mentioned standards, in the context of creativity. 

The 'tension' concept refers to the situation in urban space and hence in the public sphere, which is formed by possible conflicts of 'action-reaction', that is, the distinctions between the authority and the individuals desire to shape the city. Public space design can also be seen as an area that contributes to the formation of these standard behavior patterns or can express the tendency to go out of these patterns as a creative area. Therefore, the public space design tendencies respond to the 'tension's, and they can get close to each of the 'action-reaction' extremes. The 'design reflexes' which derive from the 'reflex' term were also used to express the design tendencies between these two extremes. The 'normative design reflexes' produced from the 'reflex' concept indicate the tendency to repeat and increase the 'action's in urban space, while the 'speculative design reflexes' indicate the tendency to create the possible 'reaction's against these 'action's.

In the second part of the study, two current 'tension' areas were selected in line with the theoretical framework and design approaches related to these areas were emphasized and detailed analyzes were performed with the help of sample applications. While selecting these 'tension' areas, it is aimed to be able to exemplify the prominent design trends in these areas, and to be related to the areas of discussion that can be examined through elements that can be seen as common in many cities including Istanbul. The basic parameters while the sample applications were selected, can be summarized as being realized in the last 10 years, being located in the dense or central areas in the cities.

In this context, the 'tension' areas selected to be examined in the study are determined as the public space design on the axis of 'commonality and monumentalism' and the 'walking experience'. Directly related to square typologies and gathering activities in urban space, in the subsection of 'commonality and monumentalism', tendency to organize public space through monumentality is problematized in context of contemporary changes in the definitions of commonality. Meanwhile in the subsection of 'walking experience', readings are made about the streets of the city through the expansions of the concept of 'closure' on the boundaries of private and public space.

In the subsection of 'commonality and monumentalism', main focus is examining the ongoing approach of constructing public space gathering areas through 'singular' components and 'sterile' planes. It is observed that such design approaches are increasing and repeated in the practices in İstanbul in recent years, as the expression of the 'commonality' of the specific majorities in the city squares. These suppressive and restrictive approaches in public space design, are studied in the context of 'normative design reflexes'. In addition to these, 'speculative design reflexes' located opposite to normative tendencies can be summarized in several different subtitles. In these tendencies which can be summarized as 'redefining the commonality through pluralism', 'balancing the dominant singular components with additional layers' and the 'use of singular components in different contexts', 'reactions' to current monumentality based approach can be observed. In the Bomontiada project in Istanbul, instead of defining the public space with elements from the common culture and common history, the definition of public space is achieved through the culture of creativity and production, spatial organization of the project in this direction is emphasized. 

Another defined area of tension is the 'walking experience' axis, where main focus is examining the tendency of private lands to relate to streets and walking activity in the intersection of the public space in the typical morphology of the city. At this point, it is emphasized that the tendencies of private lands to establish autonomous formations in areas such as shopping malls, gated communities and business centers which can be shown as 'closure' areas. In this context, it can be said that the 'closure' attitude is observed even in areas such as museum and university lands which are expected to be more related to the cities today. It can also be said that the closure areas in question restrict and suppress the walking experience in the city through physical borders and security gates. Thus, current applications of the 'closure' approach can be shown as examples of 'normative design reflexes' in this field. As tendencies aiming to break these 'closure' approaches, 'the creation of walking routes implanted to the typical urban morphology' and 'adding walking routes inside building sites', are examples of 'speculative design reflexes'. Located on one of the busiest streets of Istanbul, İstiklal Street, YKKB Building can be read and analyzed in detail as a reaction in this field, through its design to incorporate the pedestrian flow of the street inside the building with the help of a walking ramp.

As a result of the examinations and analyzes, it is possible to make evaluations on public space design trends and the 'tension-reflex' relationship as a theoretical framework. One of the main conclusions of the study seems to be related to normative approaches and the 'sprawl' of their impacts. When we look at the historical processes of the normative approaches, we can talk about the spread, repetition and continuity. At this point, the 'sprawl' is more effective than a quantitative repetition, and continuity stands out as a factor that increase visibility. Unless the continuity is broken, normative attitudes become even more normalized and they become more and more practical and easier to execute. In this context, just like in unconditional reflexes, design approaches that are formed without questioning and unconsciously, functions to spread and increase authoritarian 'actions' in urban environment. 

On the contrary, in speculative approaches, the tendency to 'react' by overturning the normative typologies in line with a clear consciousness can be mentioned. Approaches considered as 'speculative design reflexes' can lead to the breakdown of normative continuities in order to create new continuities. Considering the constant changes in dynamic urban environments, it can be said that these changes can only be responded to with speculative approaches. In this context, it can be claimed that the reading of public space design as an area of 'tension' and 'reflex' enables this kind of awareness and an in-depth look at current practices.