Metaphoric Approaches in Urban Space: An Analysis Method Proposal in the Context of Practical Design Criteria

Kentsel Mekânda Metaforik Tasarım Yaklaşımı

Abstract

Urban spaces as the place where collective life is embodied are the unique points in which urban people communicate with each other. The urban spaces, addressing the sadness, pain, rebellion or cheerfulness, celebration, exultation, cannot be designed by taking only concrete data into account; Because it features the feeling, it has a past and carries traces. All such abstractions must be included in the data for the evaluation of design space. What is carried out with this study are the effects of concept on design, and their way of physical implementation through metaphor. Within the scope of this study, the concepts of metaphor and urban space were examined in this direction and both disciplinary and interdisciplinary definitions and theoretical approaches were included. In the light of definitions and theoretical approaches, the metaphorical design approach has been created and categorized in terms of urban design discipline due to its lack in the literature. In order to examine the city-metaphor relationship, many examples of urban space were examined within the scope of the study. In order to determine that this relationship is formed in every region and at all times, samples were selected from different geographies and different historical periods. The design process of each space was examined and the ideas that led to the design were discussed in depth. The metaphorical design ideas in all the examples given within the scope of the study were examined in the context of objective design criteria in order to examine the way they were put into practice. In this way, a method has been developed on how to process the abstract data (concepts) obtained in the field. The method used to reveal this contribution is to determine the existence and roles of two main concepts (space and metaphor) in each other by means of some variables. In order to search for these symptoms, first of all, multiple definitions of metaphor belonging to different disciplines and approaches were made and its theoretical background was examined. Under the theoretical part, many different classifications are included, emphasizing the diversity of the samples selected within the scope of the study. Then, selected city parts were analyzed and metaphorical design approaches were sought. The metaphorical findings in the spaces were evaluated in the context of objective design criteria and tabulated. Finally; In the light of all the results obtained, the effects of the concept of metaphor on the design process and its components are discussed. As a result of the study, it was emphasized that the metaphorical design approach was used in many periods of the historical process, and it was stated that it was one of the most important tools in the reflection of the concepts to the space.