Fulya Selçuk | Dokuz Eylül University (original) (raw)

Papers by Fulya Selçuk

Stories of Situated Pedagogies in Architecture and ..., International Workshop Proceedings Book , 2023

The workshop which is called as ‘minor meeting’ will be presented as pedagogical experience. In t... more The workshop which is called as ‘minor meeting’ will be presented as pedagogical experience. In this workshop, the workshop community is considered as a ‘multitude’ (Spinoza, 2021; Hardt and Negri, 2011; Virilio, 2013) with diverse subjectivities. We argue that spatial knowledge of multitude, which is subjective, embodied and situated, can be deciphered through subjective trajectories. The nodes, thresholds and paths where the bodies encounter with others would be revealed as critical spatialities through these trajectories, independent from public-private, interior-exterior divisions, borders and zones defined by property relations and state control. The notion of ‘minor’ was instrumentalized to conceptualize these trajectories and spatialities as it develops from within the structure and language of the major, delight in imperfect, incomplete outcomes (Stoner,2012). Focusing on the concepts of ‘multitude’ and ‘minor’, two questions were asked to the participants: 1- Which routes do you take from home to the studio? 2- ‘HOW’ and ‘WHERE’ do you relate to other bodies on these (subjective) trajectories? In the first day of the workshop students were asked to draw cognitive maps of their daily routes they take to studio. The concepts of ‘multitude’ and ‘minor’ were discussed through these maps. For the second day, the students were asked to record their subjective routes by photographing, video recording, drawing and writing (spatial narratives). Deciphering the minor spatialities by drawing and transforming them from material to virtual is the stage of ‘deterritorialization’ (Deleuze and Guattari, 1987). On the second day, students presented the minor spatialities they recorded on their minor trajectories. On the last of day of workshop, the critical mapping phase was held. The students were asked to map these ‘deterritorialized’ spaces and establish new relations. The coding and mapping of minor spatialities is the stage of ‘reterritorialization’. Mapping the minor spatialities provided ‘minor cartographies’ that present the spatial network of the ‘multitude’. At the end of the meeting, students’ evaluated the workshop by the following statements: ‘…we realized that we needed to share our feelings.’ ‘…we got to know ourselves and each other in another way.’ ‘… it was instructive to look at the routes we know through the eyes of the others…I started to look like Mikail, I started to pay attention to what Mikail saw on my daily route.’ ‘… abstract things we did in studio became concrete with our discussions in this workshop.’ With reference to students’ statements and our personal experiences following arguments are evaluated: - Everyday life and experiences became part of the process of co-learning, generating knowledge and developing critical view. – The minor trajectories which were instrumentalized in order to read the city through body scale have turned into a powerful tool of dialogue, and therefore an alternative pedagogical tool. Subjective trajectories and narratives enabled students to get to know each other in a short time, communicate more easily, have fun and be motivated for production. The intersection of the students’ trajectories made cross-readings possible. The subjective, situated, embodied, spatial knowledge of these trajectories are transformed into collective knowledge.

Tasarım+Kuram, 2021

"Place Attachment" in Public Open Spaces: The Case of İzmir-Bostanlı Coastline Public spaces, wh... more "Place Attachment" in Public Open Spaces: The Case of İzmir-Bostanlı Coastline

Public spaces, where urban consciousness and collective memory is constructed, are expected to interact and tie strongly with
their users. Urban design projects can create and strengthen this bond or damage existing ties and destroy sense of place. It is
necessary to develop an approach to understand how urban design projects affect the relationship between citizens and public
spaces. In this study, this approach is developed within the framework of “Place Attachment Theory”, on Bostanlı coast which
has a sense of place and has been transformed with “İzmir Deniz” project. The physical environment was regenerated and
also the relationship between public space and its users has been reestablished with this urban design project. It was sought to
answer the questions of how users connect to space after the renewal, how psychological processes work and which features of
space are effective in these processes. The field research was conducted to decipher these processes and measure the placeattachment
by collecting data on behavioral, emotional and cognitive levels.
The field research was conducted in “Bostanlı Footbridge & Sunset Lounge” which is the first project applied within the scope
of “İzmir Deniz” project and opened to use in 2016. Simple observation and on site interview (structured) methods were used.
The simple observation was made on the weekends at three different times in May 2019. The action patterns in the field were
discovered by the mapping of evidences which were documented by photographs and video recordings. According to findings
of simple observation, the area is used by different age groups, but the majority of users are young people. It is used more in
the afternoons and evenings. The footbridge, wooden platforms, trees that create shade and urban furnitures are defined as
reference points for place-making practices. Active (cycling, skating, football etc.) and passive actions (picnic, napping,
sunbathing, reading, watching, taking photos, smoking hookah) take place simultaneously. Although it has been a short time
since the area was opened for use, it has not been well preserved by its users. The wood cover has been damaged and graffiti
has been drawn on the surfaces of both the footbridge and the Sunset Terrace.
On site interview (structured) was applied in the beginning of June 2019, on weekdays (Monday) and on the weekend, by faceto-
face interviews with 38 people (purposive sampling) at different points of the study area to sample variety of uses and user
groups. The questionnaire was structured based on Scannell and Gifford’s (2010) tripartite organizing framework (personprocess-
place). The first part of the questionnaire refers to “person” dimension and consists of closed-ended questions about
the demographic characteristics of users. The second part is related to “behavior” level in the “process” dimension. The third
part is a 5-point Likert scale includes items at “affect” (emotional relationships) and “cognition” level in the “process”
dimension. In the fourth part, open-ended questions were asked about “memories” and “meaning” at “cognition” level in the
“process” dimension. In the fifth part linked to “place” dimension, the expressions regarding to physical and social
components of urban space are ranged on a 5-point Likert scale. In the last part, questions are added to compare the
participants’ attachments to place before and after new arrangement.
Based on the results, public open space has a diverse range of action patterns (active and passive activities) to meet the needs
of the users, and therefore functional value. The emotional process is more effective in the relationship between the place and
its users. The effects of natural components are stronger than the effects of built environmental components in emotional and
cognitive processes. The place has a value for its users also by its social dimension. As a consequence of these results, it can
be claimed that the area has potential for place-attachment. However, the relatively low average values of some scales that
measure place attachment, negative environmental behaviors of users and the limited number of answers to questions about
memories (almost half of them are memories from time before the new arrangement) indicate that place attachment in the field
is still in the development process.
This study presents an alternative way to analyze public open spaces that have complex and multi-layered relationships by
decoding the connection between space and its users. It is the first in terms of place attachment in public spaces and can be
described as a preliminary study. Due to the limitations of the study, it was conducted with a small sample group and the reliability
tests and advanced analysis techniques could not be applied to the scales. It is possible to develop this empirical study with larger
sample groups, multiple qualitative and quantitative methods, higher number of possible variables that may affect place attachment
and analysis techniques that explain the correlation between variables. It is crucial to increase the number of applied studies in this
scope to contribute to design research of public open spaces that are qualified, successful and have a sense of place.

Conference Presentations by Fulya Selçuk

IN-PRESENCE / THE BODY AND THE SPACE. The role of corporeity in the era of virtualization, 2024

Tutti i testi di PUBLICA sono sottoposti a double peer review.

7th International Congress Livable Environments & Architecture, Other Architectures Proceedings Book, 2021

This paper discusses “living laboratory” as a method that can be situated in the intersection of ... more This paper discusses “living laboratory” as a method that can be situated in the intersection of academy-practice and academy-society in the field of architecture. Living laboratory is an action and practice-oriented, multistakeholder, multi-disciplinary, multi-method, participatory and collaborative approach in real life contexts. By these characteristics, it forms an inclusive and interactive interface that involves different practices and actors. Therefore, it has the potential to transform the problematized intersection into co-design, co-creation, co-practice, co-evaluation environment. The aim of the study is to discuss these potentials by using literature review and case study methods. The definitions and key components of living labs are explained in the literature review. There are examples both in urban and rural contexts and although they are predominantly technology oriented, socially oriented living laboratories also have been developed. Since the problem definition of the study indicates the intersection between Academy (education and research)-practice society, “the university-led socially oriented urban living laboratories” are examined and evaluated in the conclusion part. It is suggested that living lab approach would be developed as a potential model in architectural research and education in the context of Turkey.

ATINER 8th Annual International Conference on Urban Studies & Planning Proceedings Book, 2018

Space has many dimensions and it has been conceptualized in a variety of ways within different di... more Space has many dimensions and it has been conceptualized in a variety of ways within different disciplines. Disciplines such as geography, planning and architecture have developed concepts from interrelated perspectives seeing space as a physical phenomenon, a condition of mind or a product of social processes (Madanipour, 1996). In this study, space is discussed as a “process” in a relational approach. Space is not an immutable product but a dynamic process implicit power relation among different actors who have different motivations, tools and reflections. Taking the space as a process, not as a final product, will decipher the relations of power embodied in the space and makes all layers of the space visible. Approaches that consider power, space, society and subject as different poles, and evaluate the relation between these poles as cause effect relations do not provide this opportunity. This can be achieved through a relational and process-oriented approach. Actor Network Theory (ANT) is an alternative theory with its relational and process-oriented approach.
ANT has its origins in studies of the sociology of science and technology, associated with the work of Bruno Latour, John Law, Michel Callon and many others in 1980’s. ANT sorts out spatial configurations of variety of actors, both human and non-humans, who are placed and positioned differently in networks and construct different relations and forms of power (Bosco, 2006). To analyze the space as a series of transformations enables decoding these power relations that make the space controversial. “Mapping controversies” method, based on Actor Network Theory, is developed by Bruno Latour for such analyzes. The method offers a new way to follow and document interactions, translations and transformations during the production of space (Yaneva and Heaphy, 2012).
This paper applied “mapping controversies” method for decoding power relations in the case study area “Basmane World Trade Center” in İzmir, Turkey. The land is located in a region that was used to be an Armenian neighborhood in Ottoman period and there was a hospital on this land. After “The Great İzmir Fire” in 1922, the land was destroyed. In 1923, The Republic of Turkey was founded and planning cities in a modernist way became the primary politic of the new government. İzmir‟s first city plan was prepared by Rene-Daymond Danger and the land got its triangle shape with a size of 20.866 m² by this plan. The land was used to be a central transportation hub until the garage functions moved to another region in 1975. The land was transformed into an empty and precious lot in the city center which has been provoking different actors with different motives.
Land owners, developers, mayors, investors have involved in a process with a motive to profit from high value of the land. Their interventions have translated the program (from “tourism and trade center” to “hotel and convention center”; from “hotel and convention center” to “metropolitan activity center”; from “metropolitan activity center” to “tourism-trade area with housing and municipal service area”), height limitation and total construction area (from 97.000 m² to 104.000 m²; from 104.000 m² to 230.000 m²) for several times. Nongovernmental organizations have involved in a process for common good and filed several cases, organized panels and protests against the investor-friendly projects. Many renders has been served via press to create “the skyscraper” image among public. Ground was broken for twice: symbolic ground breaking in 1988 for one project, the physical one was for another project in 1998. However, the construction halted in 1999 and the land became a lagoon with its new habitants: fishes, mice, mosquitos. The discourses changed from “the highest skyscraper” to “the hole of shame”.
The constantly changing relationships between land owners, city mayors, nongovernmental organizations, investors, city planners, architects, citizens, animals, greenery have produced and reproduced the land. There is still not a completed construction in the project area but there has been ongoing controversies following several political and economic issues, planning processes and jurisdiction in the heart of the city. To map the ongoing controversies, data is collected by referring to the project proposals for the area, land use plans, implementation plans and their revisions, the news published in media, press releases of Chamber of Architects and Chamber of City Planners. The collected data is visualized chronologically by diagrams. Actors are grouped as human actors, non-human actors, and institutional actors. Their interactions in different periods are visualized as actor networks. The links are emphasized depending on actors‟ concerns and motives like rent, design or common good. The network of power relations in the production of space is made visible by its dynamic, controversial and constantly changing characteristics with this method.

Archdesign 16, III. International Architectural Design Conference on Design and Nature Proceedings Book, 2016

Kemeraltı is the 17th century old city center of Izmir, which had been an important harbor city s... more Kemeraltı is the 17th century old city center of Izmir, which had been an important harbor city since ancient times. Izmir has extended and widened around the old city core as a result of the urban development caused by rapid increase in population and economic development especially in the last century. Although Kemeraltı has lost some of its original urban identity under the pressure of urban development, the region has been one of the most authentic historical places in Izmir. Kemeraltı has been in a rehabilitation process and several conservation and restoration projects have been planned with tourism based municipal policies. These projects have generally based on two dimensional plans and projects that ignore users’ daily life and sensory experiences. However, when the public realm and the memory of place were taken into consideration, the information derived from users’ environmental experiences and imaginations gains importance. The aim of this proceeding is both to discuss the importance of daily sensory and environmental experiences of city dwellers as a guide for a more participatory rehabilitation in historical public spaces and to share the results of a pilot field study applied in Kemeraltı Bazaar, which has used cognitive mapping as a tool to achieve public participation. For this purpose, a pilot field study has been conducted in Kemeraltı Bazaar. Interviews have been applied on site with 35 participants. The data have been analyzed with content analysis applied on cognitive maps of Kemeraltı Bazaar regarding Lynch’s theoretical framework. According to research findings, it was found out that commercial, historical and cultural features dominated the environmental image of Kemeraltı Bazaar. Although buildings as landmarks were the most mentioned elements in the maps, most of the renovated ones were not identified by the participants. Some of landmarks drawn in cognitive maps were not included in current projects as well. Participants described Kemeraltı Bazaar generally both with their positive emotions and their past memories. Bad smell, difficulty in wayfinding and safety problems were the negative remarks attributed to the physical environment. Sensory perception analysis provided some inputs to consider in rehabilitation of Kemeraltı Bazaar.

Thesis Chapters by Fulya Selçuk

A Contribution to the Actor Network Theory as a Method of Deciphering the Relationships of Power ... more A Contribution to the Actor Network Theory as a Method of Deciphering the Relationships of Power Implicit to Space: Chronological Relationship Diagram

The space has been centered on discussions in the field of architecture after its emergence in architectural literature in the middle of the nineteenth century. In the nineteenth century, “architectural space” was developed in the context of man’s emotional, mental, perceptual and physical relation to space. The content of this concept has evolved into "social space" at the end of the twentieth century, under the influence of social production and reproduction relations. On the other hand, social production and reproduction relations are essentially power relations. This argument is based on the post-structuralist meaning of power as a network of productive and dynamic relations, and that can exist spontaneously everywhere.

The aim of this thesis is to decipher the network of power relations implicit to space and visualize this network. In order to decipher the network of power relations, New Materialist discourse, which enables the multiple, plural and heterogeneous analysis of networks, and its alternative analytical approaches have been examined. Actor Network Theory (ANT), one of these approaches, is applied as an effective research methodology that can reveal the relations between actors, objects and things involved in the production of space.

In order to visualize the network of power relations decoded by ANT, the mapping methods used in current studies were examined and regarding the potentials and limitations of these samples, a new representation model is proposed on the basis of ANT. In order to test this representation model, which is called "Chronological Relationship Diagram" (CRD), a case study was carried out in “Basmane Hole”. The relationship between actors, intermediaries, mediators and the power relations they construct in the production process of the land is investigated. The power network is presented graphically by the transfer of the translations in actor network to CRD. Thevii production of exchange and use value and physical, imaginative, discursive transformation of "Basmane Hole" has been made visually traceable and the opportunity to reveal power practices and resistance potentials in the space has been discovered.