esin komez | Middle East Technical University (original) (raw)
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Papers by esin komez
ArchNet-IJAR, Sep 15, 2022
Purpose-This paper aims to discuss the potentials of interdisciplinary exercises that bring toget... more Purpose-This paper aims to discuss the potentials of interdisciplinary exercises that bring together art and design methodologies in expanding as well as redefining the given methods and principles of basic design in architecture education. The primary purpose is to improve the conventional, well-established principles and methodologies of basic design studios into fresh perspectives. Design/methodology/approach-Focussing on the case study of a basic design studio assignment that translated Richard Serra's Verb List (1967-68) into space-generating operations, the authors analyse how a diagonal interdisciplinary approach to studio pedagogy opened up the basic design studio into the exploration of new concepts and approaches. The assignment encouraged architecture students to productively and creatively engage with a significant art historical work for the purposes of design thinking and exploration. Findings-Findings reveal that the students explored the possible reciprocal influences between materials, actions, and issues of form and organisation, thereby operating in an interface between art, architecture and design surveying the possible interactions between these disciplines. Based on the outcome of this studio exercise, the authors argue that designing assignments that would bring together various and sometimes even conflicting approaches of different fields allow us to reassess and conceptualise anew the pedagogical aims and modi operandi. Originality/value-The research is original in the ways in which it suggests many possibilities of dialogue, interaction and collaboration between art, design and architecture studios.
Architectural production has always been influenced by the economic developments of an era and th... more Architectural production has always been influenced by the economic developments of an era and the national and international political dynamics. In this regard, today, globalization and the current state of capitalism characterize the various aspects of contemporary architectural practice such as commoditization of architectural objects, urban environments and experiences and strong expression of nationalist identities in the buildings. In the scope of this essay, several projects from Turkey and as well as from international scene are going to be discussed in reference to the broader framework of globalization. These projects are selected as the exemplary cases of ‘sameness’, ‘iconism’, ‘theming’, ‘revivalism’, ‘typification’ and ‘urban regeneration’, which have emerged as the major approaches in contemporary architectural and urban design. However, there is a lack of reference to the tools and means of the field of architecture in the contemporary discussions on the problems of t...
METU JOURNAL OF THE FACULTY OF ARCHITECTURE, 2016
Architectural Theory Review, 2015
Journal of Design Studio, 2020
This paper aims to briefly assess the potentials and limits of online learning environment for st... more This paper aims to briefly assess the potentials and limits of online learning environment for studio education by focusing on the case of 2019-20 spring semester studio of Introduction to Architectural Design course at Middle East Technical University’s Department of Architecture. As a transitory course between basic design principles and architectural design, Introduction to Architectural Design addresses the issues of site, program, structure, form, and material in reference to small scale architectural interventions. Reviewing the usual course of the semester until the COVID-19 outbreak as well as the effects of the unexpected switch to the emergency distance teaching, the paper highlights both the creative advantages and material shortcomings of the course’s adaptation process into the online studio format.
OASE, 2019
The seeds of postmodern architecture were sown in the early 1950s and 1960s when architects, theo... more The seeds of postmodern architecture were sown in the early 1950s and 1960s when architects, theoreticians and teachers developed new design approaches and pedagogies related to the notion of context in order to heal the ill effects of orthodox modern architecture and planning. Critical Regionalism was suggested as an alternative to postmodern architecture in the 1980s, though it strongly aligns with its original premises on context. To unfold this relation, this paper provides a critical re-reading of Kenneth Frampton’s seminal text ‘Towards a Critical Regionalism’ in comparison to postmodern architecture’s early contextuality, which is discussed specifically through the works of its protagonists Colin Rowe and Robert Venturi.
Architectural Theory Review , 2016
Context is a crucial concept in architecture in spite of the frequent ambiguity around its use. A... more Context is a crucial concept in architecture in spite of the frequent ambiguity around its use. Although the consideration of context is intrinsic to the process of architectural design, in contemporary theory, little attention is paid to it. By way of contrast, in the 1950s, various architects, theorists, and teachers cultivated several perspectives on context as a way of addressing some of the ill effects of modern architectural orthodoxy. Although a topic of layered and productive debate in the post-war years, context fell into disrepute in the critical architectural discourse of the 1980s. This paper provides an archaeology of the “context debate” in the hope that it may be possible to reveal its forgotten dimensions and flexibility.
METU Journal of the Faculty of Architecture , 2016
Colin Rowe and Fred Koetter’s book Collage City has been one of the most inspiring works in the f... more Colin Rowe and Fred Koetter’s book Collage City has been one of the most inspiring works in the field of architecture with its elaborate and stimulating critique of Modernist and Post-war architecture and city planning. Published first as an article in 1975 and later as a book in 1978, Collage City has been one of the cornerstones of postmodern architectural and urban theory since. Philosopher Karl Popper’s ideas on historicism, utopia, tradition, liberal society, etc. had a great influence in shaping the urban architectural theory and design model of Colin Rowe and his pedagogical approach. Karl Popper’s impact is very obvious in the book and at its preceding Rowe’s Cornell urban design studio. However, little attention has been paid to his legacy on Collage City. This paper traces Karl Popper’s legacy on Rowe’s urban design theories and methods through an in-depth comparative reading of Collage City and Popper’s seminal publications. I argue that a thorough understanding of the context and the content of the collage city argument, and therefore this specific episode in architectural thinking and its contemporary remnants, can only be grasped truly through this intertextual reading. Hence, the intertextual reading in this paper reveals the social, political, and philosophical basis of the collage city argument, which has been approached mainly as a formalist premise so far. In conclusion, the paper aims to reveal the difficult, ambiguous, even blurred, but also productive relationship between the ideas of Colin Rowe and Karl Popper, between architecture and philosophy.
Architecture Anthology I: Education, Research, and Practice, 2015
Architectural production has always been influenced by the economic developments of an era and th... more Architectural production has always been influenced by the economic developments of an era and the national and international political dynamics. In this regard, today, globalization and the current state of capitalism characterize the various aspects of contemporary architectural practice such as commoditization of architectural objects, urban environments and experiences and strong expression of nationalist identities in the buildings. In the scope of this essay, several projects from Turkey and as well as from international scene are going to be discussed in reference to the broader framework of globalization. These projects are selected as the exemplary cases of ‘homogeneity’, ‘iconism’, ‘theming’, ‘revivalism’, ‘typification’, and ‘urban regeneration’ that have emerged as the major approaches in contemporary architectural and urban design. However, there is a lack of reference to the tools and means of the field of architecture in discussing the problems of these projects in the contemporary debate. In that respect, one of the major problems of these projects is defined as the lack of critical approach to the physical, social, historical aspects of the urban context and specificity in place and time. Thus, this essay aims to frame a new fertile ground for a productive debate on the problems of these projects by bringing the context discussion in architecture to the center. On the other hand, the context debate in contemporary architectural theory is also abandoned due to the limited and simplistic understanding of the notion of context today. For this reason, a mapping of architectural contextualism in the post-war architectural theory and practice will be provided to uncover the evolution of context debate in architecture. Finally, it is asserted that the contemporary architectural and urban problems proliferated by the economical and political impacts of globalization calls for a more critical conceptualization of architectural contextualism. In addition to that, developing a renewed understanding of contextualism has the potential to activate a generative debate on the problems of new urban environments.
Co-Authored by esin komez
Journal of Design Studio, 2020
This paper aims to briefly assess the potentials and limits of online learning environment for st... more This paper aims to briefly assess the potentials and limits of online learning environment for studio education by focusing on the case of 2019-20 spring semester studio of Introduction to Architectural Design course at Middle East Technical University's Department of Architecture. As a transitory course between basic design principles and architectural design, Introduction to Architectural Design addresses the issues of site, program, structure, form, and material in reference to small scale architectural interventions. Reviewing the usual course of the semester until the COVID-19 outbreak as well as the effects of the unexpected switch to the emergency distance teaching, the paper highlights both the creative advantages and material shortcomings of the course's adaptation process into the online studio format.
ArchNet-IJAR, Sep 15, 2022
Purpose-This paper aims to discuss the potentials of interdisciplinary exercises that bring toget... more Purpose-This paper aims to discuss the potentials of interdisciplinary exercises that bring together art and design methodologies in expanding as well as redefining the given methods and principles of basic design in architecture education. The primary purpose is to improve the conventional, well-established principles and methodologies of basic design studios into fresh perspectives. Design/methodology/approach-Focussing on the case study of a basic design studio assignment that translated Richard Serra's Verb List (1967-68) into space-generating operations, the authors analyse how a diagonal interdisciplinary approach to studio pedagogy opened up the basic design studio into the exploration of new concepts and approaches. The assignment encouraged architecture students to productively and creatively engage with a significant art historical work for the purposes of design thinking and exploration. Findings-Findings reveal that the students explored the possible reciprocal influences between materials, actions, and issues of form and organisation, thereby operating in an interface between art, architecture and design surveying the possible interactions between these disciplines. Based on the outcome of this studio exercise, the authors argue that designing assignments that would bring together various and sometimes even conflicting approaches of different fields allow us to reassess and conceptualise anew the pedagogical aims and modi operandi. Originality/value-The research is original in the ways in which it suggests many possibilities of dialogue, interaction and collaboration between art, design and architecture studios.
Architectural production has always been influenced by the economic developments of an era and th... more Architectural production has always been influenced by the economic developments of an era and the national and international political dynamics. In this regard, today, globalization and the current state of capitalism characterize the various aspects of contemporary architectural practice such as commoditization of architectural objects, urban environments and experiences and strong expression of nationalist identities in the buildings. In the scope of this essay, several projects from Turkey and as well as from international scene are going to be discussed in reference to the broader framework of globalization. These projects are selected as the exemplary cases of ‘sameness’, ‘iconism’, ‘theming’, ‘revivalism’, ‘typification’ and ‘urban regeneration’, which have emerged as the major approaches in contemporary architectural and urban design. However, there is a lack of reference to the tools and means of the field of architecture in the contemporary discussions on the problems of t...
METU JOURNAL OF THE FACULTY OF ARCHITECTURE, 2016
Architectural Theory Review, 2015
Journal of Design Studio, 2020
This paper aims to briefly assess the potentials and limits of online learning environment for st... more This paper aims to briefly assess the potentials and limits of online learning environment for studio education by focusing on the case of 2019-20 spring semester studio of Introduction to Architectural Design course at Middle East Technical University’s Department of Architecture. As a transitory course between basic design principles and architectural design, Introduction to Architectural Design addresses the issues of site, program, structure, form, and material in reference to small scale architectural interventions. Reviewing the usual course of the semester until the COVID-19 outbreak as well as the effects of the unexpected switch to the emergency distance teaching, the paper highlights both the creative advantages and material shortcomings of the course’s adaptation process into the online studio format.
OASE, 2019
The seeds of postmodern architecture were sown in the early 1950s and 1960s when architects, theo... more The seeds of postmodern architecture were sown in the early 1950s and 1960s when architects, theoreticians and teachers developed new design approaches and pedagogies related to the notion of context in order to heal the ill effects of orthodox modern architecture and planning. Critical Regionalism was suggested as an alternative to postmodern architecture in the 1980s, though it strongly aligns with its original premises on context. To unfold this relation, this paper provides a critical re-reading of Kenneth Frampton’s seminal text ‘Towards a Critical Regionalism’ in comparison to postmodern architecture’s early contextuality, which is discussed specifically through the works of its protagonists Colin Rowe and Robert Venturi.
Architectural Theory Review , 2016
Context is a crucial concept in architecture in spite of the frequent ambiguity around its use. A... more Context is a crucial concept in architecture in spite of the frequent ambiguity around its use. Although the consideration of context is intrinsic to the process of architectural design, in contemporary theory, little attention is paid to it. By way of contrast, in the 1950s, various architects, theorists, and teachers cultivated several perspectives on context as a way of addressing some of the ill effects of modern architectural orthodoxy. Although a topic of layered and productive debate in the post-war years, context fell into disrepute in the critical architectural discourse of the 1980s. This paper provides an archaeology of the “context debate” in the hope that it may be possible to reveal its forgotten dimensions and flexibility.
METU Journal of the Faculty of Architecture , 2016
Colin Rowe and Fred Koetter’s book Collage City has been one of the most inspiring works in the f... more Colin Rowe and Fred Koetter’s book Collage City has been one of the most inspiring works in the field of architecture with its elaborate and stimulating critique of Modernist and Post-war architecture and city planning. Published first as an article in 1975 and later as a book in 1978, Collage City has been one of the cornerstones of postmodern architectural and urban theory since. Philosopher Karl Popper’s ideas on historicism, utopia, tradition, liberal society, etc. had a great influence in shaping the urban architectural theory and design model of Colin Rowe and his pedagogical approach. Karl Popper’s impact is very obvious in the book and at its preceding Rowe’s Cornell urban design studio. However, little attention has been paid to his legacy on Collage City. This paper traces Karl Popper’s legacy on Rowe’s urban design theories and methods through an in-depth comparative reading of Collage City and Popper’s seminal publications. I argue that a thorough understanding of the context and the content of the collage city argument, and therefore this specific episode in architectural thinking and its contemporary remnants, can only be grasped truly through this intertextual reading. Hence, the intertextual reading in this paper reveals the social, political, and philosophical basis of the collage city argument, which has been approached mainly as a formalist premise so far. In conclusion, the paper aims to reveal the difficult, ambiguous, even blurred, but also productive relationship between the ideas of Colin Rowe and Karl Popper, between architecture and philosophy.
Architecture Anthology I: Education, Research, and Practice, 2015
Architectural production has always been influenced by the economic developments of an era and th... more Architectural production has always been influenced by the economic developments of an era and the national and international political dynamics. In this regard, today, globalization and the current state of capitalism characterize the various aspects of contemporary architectural practice such as commoditization of architectural objects, urban environments and experiences and strong expression of nationalist identities in the buildings. In the scope of this essay, several projects from Turkey and as well as from international scene are going to be discussed in reference to the broader framework of globalization. These projects are selected as the exemplary cases of ‘homogeneity’, ‘iconism’, ‘theming’, ‘revivalism’, ‘typification’, and ‘urban regeneration’ that have emerged as the major approaches in contemporary architectural and urban design. However, there is a lack of reference to the tools and means of the field of architecture in discussing the problems of these projects in the contemporary debate. In that respect, one of the major problems of these projects is defined as the lack of critical approach to the physical, social, historical aspects of the urban context and specificity in place and time. Thus, this essay aims to frame a new fertile ground for a productive debate on the problems of these projects by bringing the context discussion in architecture to the center. On the other hand, the context debate in contemporary architectural theory is also abandoned due to the limited and simplistic understanding of the notion of context today. For this reason, a mapping of architectural contextualism in the post-war architectural theory and practice will be provided to uncover the evolution of context debate in architecture. Finally, it is asserted that the contemporary architectural and urban problems proliferated by the economical and political impacts of globalization calls for a more critical conceptualization of architectural contextualism. In addition to that, developing a renewed understanding of contextualism has the potential to activate a generative debate on the problems of new urban environments.
Journal of Design Studio, 2020
This paper aims to briefly assess the potentials and limits of online learning environment for st... more This paper aims to briefly assess the potentials and limits of online learning environment for studio education by focusing on the case of 2019-20 spring semester studio of Introduction to Architectural Design course at Middle East Technical University's Department of Architecture. As a transitory course between basic design principles and architectural design, Introduction to Architectural Design addresses the issues of site, program, structure, form, and material in reference to small scale architectural interventions. Reviewing the usual course of the semester until the COVID-19 outbreak as well as the effects of the unexpected switch to the emergency distance teaching, the paper highlights both the creative advantages and material shortcomings of the course's adaptation process into the online studio format.