Kadınların İç Mimarlık Mesleğine Yönelimi Üzerine Bir Araştırma

Abstract

First generation women decorators had a leading role in the emergence of interior architecture as a profession in the West. However, within the context of Turkey, women did not act as pioneers of the profession in the emergence and development of the discipline neither in education nor practice. Despite this fact, recently the number of women interior architecture students is gradually increasing. This research aims at understanding to what extent women had been active and influential in the emergence and development of the profession in the Western World and Turkey in the first place. Then it evaluates the scale of increase mentioned above in the number of women students through quantitative data obtained from YÖK (Higher Education Institute of Turkey), Higher Education Information System, Chamber of Interior Architects, BAU registration office and other institutions. And finally, the research intends to reveal the reasons of women’s motivation towards interior architecture profession via semi-structured interviews. The findings of the interviews conducted with senior students, active academics, practicing interior architects and pioneers of the profession will be discussed under four main categories: motives of heading towards the profession, the perception of the profession, post-graduation preferences and lastly gender and design.