Browsing by Subject "Public space"

Now showing 1 - 8 of 8

Open Access
Designing mosques for secular congregations: Transformations of the mosque as a social space in Turkey
(Locke Science Publishing, 2011) Özaloglu, S.; Gürel, M. O.
This study examines contemporary meanings and uses of the mosque in Turkey by arguing that productive architectural plans require understanding both the socio-historical development of the mosque and the socio-political transformations that have led to the mosque's current position in society. Mosque space is conceptualized as a physical environment that cultivates the formation and transformation of individual, social, and collective memories. The study questions whether the mosque still exhibits the qualities of a social space and whether new and innovative mosque designs reflect - programmatically, architecturally, and spatially - transformations related to their current uses and social meanings. These questions are explored through interviews, two questionnaires, and a worksheet, all of which involve a case study of Dogramacizade Mosque in Ankara. On one hand, the findings underscore the changing relationship between Muslim women and mosque space as a result of the transformation of congregations into citizens of a contemporary secular nation and suggest that spatial designs of mosques should take present-day behaviors and practices into consideration rather than ignoring this social aspect through which transformations occur. On the other hand, the collective memory of congregation members resists changing the allocation of prayer halls in the mosque. Members are in favor of continuing the traditional layout of separated spaces based on gender differences. The resistance implies that collective memory changes much slower than behaviors or lifestyles in terms of gender issues. Additionally, parallel to the findings, modernization of the mosque brings forth the idea of resurrecting the mosque s historical form as a social complex that fundamentally conflicts with secularity.
Open Access
Evaluation of interior shopping mall design within the context of urban public realm
(1993) Parlar, Z. Merve
This work puts forth a different point of view for the evaluation of the design of interior shopping malls. In this approach, public interior spaces are defined and analyzed as a component of the urban public realm. The problems and concepts of interior shopping malls are analyzed in a historical perspective, after briefly introducing the relationship between the city and the public realm, the city and the interior shopping mall. Thus the aspects of urban public realm and the design criteria of interior shopping malls are obtained and defined. Finally, based on these aspects and criteria, interior shopping malls in Ankara are analyzed. The stages of development and typologies derived from these analyses are discussed in teims of the context of urban public realm. All researches and analysis aim to form a basis for an interdisciplinary study, and to draw attention to the interaction of 'exterior space', 'building mass' and 'interior space'.
Open Access
Everywhere is Taksim': the politics of public space from nation-building to neoliberal islamism and beyond
(Sage, 2015-03) Batuman, B.
This article discusses the politics of public space through the particular example of Taksim Square in Istanbul. Tracing Taksim’s history since the early twentieth century, the article analyzes the instrumentalization of public space in nation-building, the socialization of politics within the context of postwar rapid urbanization, and the (re)politicization of public space under neoliberal Islamism. Finally it arrives at an assessment of the nation-wide antigovernment protests that centered on Taksim Square in May–June 2013. Throughout this historical examination, the politics of public space is discussed with reference to the work of Henri Lefebvre, in order to scrutinize the spatial aspects of the relation between state and society. Accordingly, the rise of democratic public space is defined as a result of the mutual interaction between two bottom-up impetuses; the immanent politics of the social (the political character of everyday life) and the socialization of the political (civil political action).
Open Access
The legacy of the hippodrome at Constantinople
(1998) Varinlioğlu, Günder
Circuses were among the most popular Roman entertainment buildings from the early seventh century BC up to the sixth century AD. Although they were primarily designed for chanot races, circuses remained closely tied to the public life of a city by incorporating a number of religious, commercial and ceremonial functions. Their role in Roman daily and political life further increased in the late Empire and especially under the tetrarchy when the circus, which was by then physically connected to the imperial palace, has become the major arena for the visual and verbal contact between the emperor and the public, and a sine qua non component of tetrarchic centers. The Hippodrome of Constantinople believed to be started by Septimius Severus at the end of the second century and completed by Constantine in 330 AD, had a peculiar place among Roman circuses, because it was the circus par excellence of the Eastern Roman Empire. On the other hand, up to the twelfth century, it kept alive the tradition of chariot races which gradually became interwoven in imperial ceremonies. Furthermore, the Hippodrome adjunct to the Great Palace of the emperors, represented the fundamental public space of the city which was also a religious, administrative, commercial, ceremonial and entertainment center. Today, the Atmeydani (the place of horses), spanning almost half a kilometer from the Northwest to the Southeast between Sultan Ahmet Mosque and the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts (former Ibrahim Paşa Palace), still recalls the memory of chariot races through its name. The site bears the surviving remains of the structure, limited to two obelisks and a column, namely the Theodosian Obelisk, the Serpent Column and the Column of Constantine Porphyrogenitus, located on the longitudinal middle axis of the arena and the monumental brick and rubble substructures of the semicircular southern end (sphendone) of the Hippodrome. Although such an important building has been continuously mentioned and described by waters and travelers throughout the centunes, neither the constructional history nor the architectural charactenstics of the Hippodrome have been securely reconstructed. This paper encounters two broad questions about the Hippodrome at Constantinople: First, it investigates the role of the Hippodrome in the public life of the city and in the urban memory, from its inauguration up to the twentieth century. This first study is based on the interpretation of the secondary sources, the accounts of ancient authors and chroniclers as well as the pictorial matenal (miniatures, engravings, maps, photographs etc.) that was handed over throughout centuries. Second, it attempts to locate the Hippodrome in the tradition of circus building through a comparative analysis of the available data on a number of late Roman circuses. This second study consists of the evaluation of the archaeological excavations and surveys previously carried out on the site in comparison to the field survey and documentation work we have undertaken at the substructures of the sphendone in 1997, in order to discuss the earliest and subsequent building phases of the surviving remains and thus locate it in a building tradition. Reassessing the urban and constructional value of the Hippodrome in the past and its legacy in the present, we aim at drawing attention to the urgent need of preservation and presentation of the remains to the general public.
Open Access
“Night Hawks” watching over the city: redeployment of night watchmen and the politics of public space in Turkey
(Sage Publications, 2019-11) Batuman, Bülent; Erkip, Feyzan
Technological advances have enormously increased surveillance techniques in the last three decades. In this article, we scrutinize the re-instatement of bekçi, the traditional night watchmen patrolling the residential neighborhoods in Turkey, which was obsolete for decades. We analyze the re-emergence of the bekçi in relation to the dynamics of urbanization, and with a perspective of power and surveillance. Our discussion bridges the Foucauldian notion of “visibility,” equating it with being subject to surveillance, and the Arendtian emphasis on “appearance” as the precondition for a claim to public space (hence, citizenship) in order the uncover the role of visibility within the mechanisms of power in public space. We argue that although the bekçi seems outmoded, especially within the context of ever-increasing advancement of surveillance technologies; its recent deployment in the public spaces of Turkish metropolises brings about new modes of politics of visibility parallel to the changing modality of the urban environment.
Open Access
Public space formation in peripheral urban development: a comparative analysis of Batıkent and İncek districts
(2023-12) Mahmudov, Elif Ilgın
Parallel to its growing population, Ankara expanded beyond the morphological basin in which it was situated. As a result, the past four decades witnessed peripheral urban developments around the city. These developments emerged under the influence of different urbanization trends and approaches over the years. These approaches have been shaped by varying actors, origins and motivations. In this study, it is aimed to examine public space formation in peripheral urban developments through a comparative analysis of Batıkent and Incek districts. In this context, the concept of public space, its attributes and characteristics, the predicaments of its privatization and the roles of determinant actors in this process are discussed. Following this discussion, the location and topography of Batıkent and Incek districts, their historical development, the formation of public spaces in each of them are comparatively scrutinized. While Batıkent has developed through the collaboration of cooperatives, the central government and the local administration, Incek was shaped through the investments and initiatives of private companies, as a product of neoliberal urbanization. Thus, public spaces in the two districts exhibit significant differences, which are illustrative of public space formation under different modes of urban space production.
Open Access
Relationships between measured levels and subjective ratings: A case study of the food-court area in CEPA shopping center, Ankara
(SAGE, 2012-03-01) Dökmeci, P. N.; Yilmazer, S.
Physical comfort requirements of users; such as, thermal, visual, and acoustic comfort, should be considered and studied in detail when planning and designing public spaces. However, there is not enough research on the relations between the acoustical parameters, and the acoustic comfort level of users in enclosed non-acoustic public spaces, which are directly connected with a central atrium. In such spaces, evaluation on auditory perception and noise annoyance should be performed in parallel with objective parametric measurements. The food-court area of CEPA Shopping Center, with a central atrium and a glass ceiling structure, in the capital city of Turkey, Ankara is chosen for the case. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationships between the users' subjective ratings of noise levels and the measured equivalent continuous sound pressure levels (Leq). In addition, the demographical differences and user profile variances, as well as the auditory perception classifications are investigated in this case space. The present acoustical indices are measured and then discussed by pointing out the architectural features of the case space, which are the central atrium, glass ceiling structure and the sound reflective material applications. The research methods include, noise measurements to obtain Leq and questionnaires to assess the subjective ratings and auditory perception of the users. This study mainly concentrates on the food-court space, which is within CEPA Shopping Center and displays the significant results regarding this space. These results show that Leq values vary by different day types (weekdays and weekends) and time of day, and the subjective ratings correlate well with these Leq variances. The most dominant sound perceived by the users was found to be the hum of voices. One other significant result implies that, subjective ratings of noise level becomes significant above 67 dBA and shows a sudden increase in the ratings. Furthermore, the time spent in the food-court area correlated significantly with noise annoyance ratings.
Open Access
The shopping mall as an emergent public space in Turkey
(SAGE, 2003) Erkip, F.
The shopping mall as a part of the recent transformations in Turkish urban lifestyle is the focus of this research. Characteristics of the Turkish way of using shopping malls, and their social and spatial consequences, are investigated and analyzed through a case study in Ankara, the capital of Turkey. The field survey was carried out in Bilkent Shopping Center, a newly built shopping mall in a suburban area which was also established recently as a high-income housing settlement. This shopping mall is an appropriate example of spatial transformations under the influence of global forces, which may also give clues about changes in urban lifestyle. A field survey was carried out through user surveys, and various observations are used to enrich the analysis. The results indicate that the shopping mall as a postmodern site matched the changing shopping and consumption requirements of Turkish urban citizens. The development of the shopping mall turns out to be timely for the Turkish urban citizen searching for modernity through new identity components in consumption patterns. Some benefit from this development more than others, for example, working women, indicating the process of feminization of the flaneur. However, these sites simultaneously produce a new arena of negotiation and conflict as well, creating new forms of exclusion-particularly for the urban poor. Although malls appear more public and democratic than the streets for the time being, the potential for segregation is implicit in their private character.