An analysis of architectural research in Turkey
Gizem Alataş Temel, Ruşen YamaçlıDepartment of Architecture, Eskişehir Technical University Faculty of Architecture and Design Eskişehir, TürkiyeArchitectural research presents a discipline-specific practice, which is frequently examined by academics today. The distinction of architectural knowledge with its production and transmission requires architectural research to have unique tools, methods and forms of dissemination. This study developed on the question of whether the architectural research in Turkey is carried out with an awareness of this specific distinction. The aim of the study is to determine which dissemination tools and objectives of the architectural research carried out in Turkey, which collaborations are offered and which audience they appeal to. It is also aimed to reveal the contributions of different institutions and organisations doing research to the production, translation and dissemination of architectural knowledge. In order to set a reference, the history of architectural research, its formation and goals and approaches of research in different countries were examined. In order to determine the ways of information production, translation and dissemination methods targeted by researchers in Turkey during the architectural research process, the current architectural research agendas of RIBA, AIA, ACSA and EAAE were examined and a reference table was created concerning the research goals and approaches. As a result of the examination of the development process of architectural research in Turkey, four different researchers stand out as leaders of architectural research in our country; university research centres, architectural offices, workshops, research groups and doctoral researchers. University research activities, architectural offices, research groups and workshops are within the scope of research. The literature review is the main research method of this study. Information on the research objectives of university research centres was obtained from university websites. Since it is not possible to gather data from all architectural offices in Turkey regarding time and resources, nine architectural offices which have clearly defined their research objectives were selected as a focus group. All workshops and research groups that are currently active in the field of architecture and have clearly defined research goals are included in the scope of the review. All data on these researchers have been compiled from information published on their official websites. The defined objectives of those are grouped under titles of production of architectural knowledge, translation of obtained knowledge, and dissemination of knowledge. The research goals of each researcher were evaluated proportionally within their practice. For this evaluation, first of all, the main research targets and the number of actors that have adopted each target are determined and given as an input to the web program that will create the chord diagram, with a predefined fixed rule. The program outputs a diagram that defines the proportional weight of the target groups to each other, and similarly the proportional weight of the targets within the main target groups. These diagrams are discussed among themselves and the prominent goals and approaches for architectural research carried out by researchers. The reference table for goals and approaches is compiled from the current architectural research agendas of RIBA, AIA, ACSA and EAAE. University research centres, selected architectural offices, workshops and research groups were compared in terms of research goals, approaches and which researcher converged with which global research agenda. Accordingly, research conducted in architectural offices largely aligns with the RIBA agendas, which stand out with their practice-based research goals. Architectural research carried out in university research centres includes the approach of all four agendas. It has been observed that architectural research carried out by workshops and research groups mostly converge to the ACSA agenda, and they are the researchers that target social participation in the production, translation and dissemination processes of architectural knowledge the most. However, some deficiencies and problems were identified as a result of this comparison regarding the architectural research attempts in Turkey. These include global architectural research problems such as the lack of financial resources for architectural research and the lack of a common quality standard for evaluating architectural research; it also includes problems at the local level, such as the inability to provide an efficient and creative dialogue between policy-makers, practitioners and researchers, and the inability to ensure the continuity of research started at the university in practice. It is aimed that the findings and suggestions of this study regarding the current situation will contribute to the literature and architecture as a science by laying the groundwork for dialogues between researchers, policy-makers and practitioners and financial resources.
Keywords: Architectural studies, architectural research objectives; architectural knowledge; dissemination of architectural knowledgeTürkiye’de mimarlık araştırmalarına yönelik bir i̇nceleme
Gizem Alataş Temel, Ruşen YamaçlıEskişehir Teknik Üniversitesi, Mimarlık ve Tasarım Fakültesi, Mimarlık Bölümü, Eskişehir, TürkiyeBu çalışma, Türkiye’de yürütülen mimarlık araştırmalarına dair genel durumu tanımlamanın yanı sıra araştırmaları gerçekleştiren kurum ve organizasyonların hedeflerine yönelik derinlemesine incelemede bulunmayı, bu sayede mimarlık araştırmaları konusunda önde gelen ülkelerde yürütülen araştırmalar ile ülkemizde gerçekleştirilen mimarlık araştırmalarına dair araştırma yaklaşımları ve hedefleri karşılaştırarak mimarlık araştırmalarında küresel konumumuzu tariflemeyi amaçlamaktadır. Bu bağlamda mimarlık araştırmalarının ortaya çıkış süreci, amaçları ve günümüze kadar geçirdiği değişim ve dönüşümler dünyadan farklı örnekler ile tartışmaya açılmıştır. Uluslararası platformda ele alınan güncel ajandalar (RIBA, AIA, ACSA, EAAE) hedef ve yaklaşımları bakımından örnek alınarak, karşılaştırmalı olarak gruplanmış ve analiz edilmiştir. Bu analizden elde edilen tablo, ülkemizdeki mimarlık araştırmalarının mevcut durumunun tespit edilmesi için bir referans olarak belirlenmiştir. Türkiye’de yürütülen mimarlık araştırmalarının hedefleri üniversitelere bağlı araştırma merkezleri, mimarlık ofisleri ve çalışma grupları ile atölyelerin mimari araştırma pratikleri üzerinden tartışılmıştır. Söz konusu hedefler, hazırlanan referans tablo ile karşılaştırılarak hangi kurum ve organizasyonların hangi küresel mimarlık araştırması yaklaşımına yakınsadığı incelenmiştir. Hedeflerin detaylı incelenmesi ile ülkemizde yürütülen mimarlık araştırmalarına yönelik sorunlu görülen alanlar ve eksiklikler tespit edilmiştir.
Atıf için yazım şekli: Alataş Temel G, Yamaçlı R. An analysis of architectural research in Turkey. Megaron 2022;17(2): 292–312.
[Article in Turkish]
Manuscript Language: Turkish
