The Changing Meaning of House through Traces in Memory

Abstract

Housing, as a physical space, is a phenomenon that carries psychological, social and cultural meanings beyond the need for shelter. The home plays an important role in the life of the user as a symbol of security, comfort and individuality. Today, with the influence of changing and diversifying lifestyles, the features sought in housing, housing usage norms and the meaning attributed to housing have changed. The feeling of privilege and specialness that users try to have with the housing; it has made us question the values shared with the home and the true meaning of the lifestyle in the home.
In this regard, the study aims to reveal the effects of changes in social structure and lifestyles on the meaning of the home, which is a reflection of these effects, through the traces in the memory of the users. The unique aspect of the study is that the relationship between changing lifestyles and housing is examined through the traces left in the memories of the users by the meanings they attach to the home they lived in during their childhood and to today’s home.
The study is based on the assumptions that housing carries different meanings beyond meeting the shelter needs of its users and that users carry traces of the homes they lived in in the past in their memories; answers were sought to the questions of which features of the homes they lived in during their childhood left a mark on their memories, which place in their childhood homes is most remembered in their memories, what meanings the childhood home has in the memory of its users, and what meanings the home they live in today means to its users.
Within the scope of the study, in-depth interviews were conducted with 20 residential users, 10 women and 10 men, aged 50 and over, living in Trabzon. While determining the sample, it was taken into account that there were users aged 50 and above in order to evaluate the difference between the past and the present and to retain the experiences in memory, and to select both male and female users in order to evaluate whether there was a gender-related difference. Content analysis of the data obtained from the answers given by the users to the questions during the interviews was conducted to reveal the meaning of the home. In this context, with the help of the qualitative data analysis method, all the data obtained were coded and themes were created. Then, the data obtained from the answers to the questions about the meaning and description of the home were analyzed with the help of the Maxqda program and the prominent concepts and themes were determined. The themes determined by the content analysis of the data obtained from the interviews were evaluated comparatively with the prominent concepts in the concept maps created through the Maxqda program.
When the results of the study were revealed, it was seen that the place that was remembered in the childhood home narratives had no effect. The meaning of childhood home carries themes such as “home”, “past/memories” and components related to personal and social characteristics. However, the meaning of the currently used home carries themes such as “peace”, “comfort”, “meaningless” and components related to personal, social and physical characteristics. While memories, social, emotional and psychological parameters stand out in narratives about the past, it is seen that comfort-related parameters come to the fore in today’s home. These results indicate a shift in the residents’ expectations from the home they own. When users are asked whether they want to live again in the home they lived in during their childhood, the majority of them state that they do not want to live. This means; even though users long for the days they know they will never experience again, they do not want to give up the comfort conditions they currently have. When users describe both their childhood home and their current home, they carry the common meanings of peace, happiness and sharing. Residents tend to emphasize the semantic value of the homes by expressing certain emotional states while describing or interpreting any home. In general terms, it is concluded that the meaning of the home has undergone certain changes over time due to the influence of evolving lifestyles.