The contemporary architecture has been focusing on the creation of concept before giving attention to the context. It is seen that architects are making their designs related with the created conceptual background before thinking on functional necessities. Today is the era of seeking to interrogate relationship among reality, symbols, and society as Baudrillard referred on his simulation theorem. Most of the converging objects of the life from 1980’s till today, can be seen asthe piece of “a great scenery” of the modern life, created by the authorities. During the period in between 1990’s and the 2016, it is seen that the capital market has been formulated under the effects of neo-liberalist economies. The rise of the multiculturalism is started and thus, alternative media is born. These years are the years of having many spectacular buildings of star-architects on the praxis field. Thus having a direct link to this formulation in the architectural field, it can be said that, the importance of the projects are not formulated according to the basic guidelines and architectural principles, however it is focused on concept research on architectural projects, which would be the best-sellers on the market.Bjarke Ingels and his Copenhagen-based firm BIG is disproportionate number of the profession’s rising star from the north side of the world contemporary architecture. Thus, the paper will have the critical overview to the architectural fiction on the 21st century, while it will focus on the important projects of BIG from all over the world.

Architectural education, like architectural culture, is charged with responsibility for traditions, rituals, pedagogical models, and norms that place great importance on authenticity. Authenticity, meaning originality or genuineness as well as referring to an individual’s creative faculties, is a fundamental concept that distinguishes the designer’s capabilities in a creative process. Situated at the core of architectural education, the design studio has long been serving as an environment for the semi-god creator to invent his “authentic” designs ex-nihilo. The prevalent conception of authenticity is a romanticized one, where unique forms are a means of personal expression and exterior influences are intruders into one’s true creativity. Although “authenticity” was subjected to heavy criticism during the 20th century in various fields, it continues to shape pedagogical tendencies in architectural education today. Taboos on formal similarity, repetition, and ordinariness continue to pressure studio culture. One of the pedagogical implications of this obsession with “authenticity” is to restrict interaction with precedents in design education. It is worth asking if subverting these taboos on authenticity enhances design studio learning. Is it possible to re-approach precedents as found objects, and manipulation as a tool for alternative modes of creativity and learning in the studio environment? Two design experiments have been devised to rethink authenticity and creation in studio pedagogy, and to experiment with manipulation of precedents as a potential learning and designing resource. It is not intended to neglect or overthrow the concept of “authenticity” in the design studio, but to reassess it with a critical pedagogical approach that acknowledges architectural qualities other than the purely formal.

This article discusses some architectural and urban design competition projects, as well as the ideas that influenced them, which have had a significant place in the development of Berlin since World War II. The article focuses on competition projects, beginning with questions regarding which circumstances and mechanisms are used to realize the principles of modernity, and problematizes the extent to which common wisdom is decisive in cultural and intellectual processes in Berlin, which has been configured based on principles of modernity since the late 19th century and early 20th century. With the assumption that the positivist perspective of enlightenment during early phases of modernity constituted the essence of the “discourse of consistency,” it is intended to analyze how attempts are made to materialize the notion of rationality - a significant feature of the idea of modernity - in architectural competitions, and how it embodies the identity of Berlin. The transformation of Berlin, which can be associated both with modernity and post-modernity due to its political and economic transformations after the period of modernity is also examined. Berlin was selected as the case study for two primary reasons; first, it was where the Eastern and Western blocs met, representing socialist and capitalist systems. Second, Berlin is in the geographical region where modernity was born, and therefore it has often been referred to in rationality-based practices and discourse regarding a “modern” city. Within the context of reflections of the idea of modernity on both architecture and cities, and with specific reference to the city of Berlin, assessments of entries in architectural competitions held between 1945-2014 during 3 sub-periods defined by critical political, economic, cultural inflection points are made using cartographical method of urban analysis.

Fire safety design in buildings is a basic precaution for preserving security of life and property during fire. It should be addressed with care, since fire cannot be prevented completely and there is a risk of fire in any building. Building fire safety requires interdisciplinary study. However, it is especially important for architects to utilize their knowledge of the subject in professional education, as architects have a critical role in the design and construction processes of a building and must consider the law and regulations as design inputs. The fact that a fire safety design course is not offered as part of the curriculum of every architecture faculty, and that it is not being taught sufficiently within other course content, means there is a lack of awareness and knowledge. Many buildings in Turkey do not meet criteria for fire safety design, and this is considered a result of shortcomings in education. This study examined the curricula of 90 architecture departments in Turkey and a survey of academics was conducted. The results were evaluated and suggestions proposed accordingly.

This article discusses approaches to architectural design and the use of diagrams as a design tool, including specifications for the development process and methods of use of diagrams, and evaluates this approach that is both flexible and subjective. Interpretations of information and data analysis using diagrammatic methods and their effects on creation of architectural form are examined. Based on theoretical foundation established in the initial section of the report, the second half analyzes research regarding sequential form formation diagrams, examining their content and potential. The question, “Is it a design tool or just a simple presentation technique?” was considered with regard to diagrams submitted for architectural competitions based on diagrammatic strategies and the effects on the city and users. Using these considerations for the sample projects, a formal, functional and conceptual classification was created to analyze such diagrams and design steps.

Sustainable architectural design process is more complicated than traditional building design because it has its own regulations that require calculations and comparisons that also need to be considered. For this article, sustainability parameters were accepted as the standards of green building certification systems (LEED and BREEAM), local climate conditions, and local building regulations. There are conflicting criteria according to those sustainability parameters. As a result, Pareto genetic algorithm was chosen to address multiple objectives by incorporating the Pareto concept of domination. An efficient, sustainable design should be developed during conceptual stage, when the most important decisions are made, so that a decision support system can be developed with the help of Pareto-based non-dominated genetic algorithm (NSGA-II) to evaluate several possibly conflicting objectives. This article discusses a model that aims to produce site layout alternatives according to sustainability criteria for social housing units.

“Bergsonism,” written by Gilles Deleuze, is one of the primary texts on French philosopher Henri Bergson. This article reconsiders reflections on Deleuzian sense of multiplicity in architectural design through the “intuition as method” described in the concepts of Bergsonism. Experimental research was conducted by the author of the present article in the 2014-2015 spring term at Faculty of Architectural and Design of Maltepe University in ARCH 202 Design Studio. The work led to the production of the new and subjective singularities in architectural design, independent of mediation of representation. In a pragmatic design approach, movement of drawing by hand with an intuitive flow/flux not related to narrative representation is discussed through incommensurable intensities. Although based on a meditative, imaginary, diagrammatic “ground”, intuition provides immediate data.Affirming ontological multiplicities, intuition/duration immediate data that produces the conditions of intuitivity. Dividable and quantifiable diagrammatic spatializations are articulated during the flux of that is emerging immeasurably as “differences in nature” and tendencies that are emerging as “differences in kind”. It is a design thinking without necessarily accepting “concept” as a beginning, and it accepts pure perception, articulations connected to singular characteristics occurring according to the conditions of the experience. This kind of design thinking resists labeling and identifying diagrammatic representations producing different tendencies, intensities and new beginnings by immediate intuition.

Technology and tools have contributed a great deal to human evolution in terms of how we think, live, and work. The design domain has also witnessed and experienced changes in technology and design tools. Once a “master-builder,” the architect has today become merely a designer, as fundamental tools of design introduced to the profession, such as paper and standardized line weight lead pencils, have drawn the architect away from the construction site and closer to the drawing board.
Similar examples led researchers such as Visser to define the domain of design as having certain commonalities as well as distinct characteristics, depending on the design situation. In the same vein, this study takes the design tool as a design variant and investigates how it has affected the way architects present their work. To achieve this, issues of Yapı magazine from 1973-2015 were retrieved and representational graphics of projects published were categorized.
It was noted that after the introduction of 3-dimensional representations in the 1990s, the use of more realistic diagrams and images grew, and this led to the reconstruction of the relationship between the architect and his audience, and made it a more inclusive, experiential and process-oriented relationship.

Restoring or renovating important historical sites and buildings, for either the original or a new purpose, ensures the continuation of cultural heritage. When reacquiring such sites as part of a city’s heritage, they must be safely and effectively designed. Lighting is one of the necessary components of this design phase. Lighting design of historic sites should be very sensitive to the original construction and interventions should be kept at minimum. This article discusses the renovated cistern in İzmir’s Kadifekale that is to be used as an exhibition hall. Various parameters were considered for the lighting design of cistern, such as visual comfort, functional requirements and aesthetics. This article discusses the approach and methods of the lighting design for the historic cistern in detail.

The concepts of interactivity and interactive products have become an important part of our modern life. Interactive interfaces, which have evolved with the help of rapid developments in information technologies since the beginning of the 1980s, are not just limited to electronic consumer products, but are integrated into many products of daily life. The integration of intelligent building systems brought interactive design to building users. Today, intelligent building systems are used not only to operate facilities more economically, but also to provide more comfort. Based on these needs, with the latest developments in these technologies, contemporary intelligent building systems are becoming a complicated mechanism of automatic perception, decision and response for various interfaces, as well as capable of learning data that were not installed in the system. In contrast to the pervasive standardization of design of 20th century products and buildings, the characteristics of interactive customization that these systems provide can offer very important advantages.

With the intertwining of rural and urban areas, new concepts have emerged about rural areas and agricultural production. New approaches have been created to restructure agricultural production and define agriculture as an urban activity. With the help of these approaches, regulations aimed at the applicability of urban agriculture began to appear on the agenda of both central and local governments. It is understood that in order to meet the economic and social demands arising as a result of rapid urbanization processes in a reliable way, urban development plans and regulations at the local government level are needed. In this context, many countries regard urban agriculture as an important strategy in their urban policy arsenal because of its contributions to urban food safety, local sustainable economic development and decreasing urban poverty. This study explores the concept of urban agriculture and its applicability in metropolitan cities where rural and urban land meet. Within this framework, changes to contemporary legislation and the changing role of local governments in urban agriculture practices are also discussed. The importance of urban agriculture practices in sustainable urban development policies because of their social, economic and environmental impacts is emphasized. In conclusion, it is noted that just as agriculture and agricultural production are becoming an area of study for local governments, metropolitan municipalities are also becoming important actors in matters related to agricultural production in Turkey.

Innovation concept includes technology, change, and invention. The concept can be defined as making any alteration, variation or innovation to services and products in order to create economic and social value for the society (Elçi, 2006), and innovation can occur in different areas of construction companies. Product, process, client, manner of procurement, and brand awareness are areas of innovation that have different importance levels for each company type. However, scientific research on the effect of innovation areas on organizational performance is rare in the literature. In this context, the objective of this study was to investigate the relationships between innovation areas and performance in small and medium-sized construction companies using the Delphi method of analysis. First, innovation concept was explained in detail, and particularly the development of the concept in the construction industry. Then, subcomponents of the concept were discussed with regard to construction business. Delphi results indicated that in small and medium-sized construction companies, the “working network” innovation area is the most effective with regard to organizational performance, and the “product proposal” innovation area has the lowest level of impact on performance. These results can contribute to the managerial decision-making process of construction companies and can be used as a resource for developing an innovation management plan.