Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
LIVable ENvironments & ARCHitecture 6th international congress, Trabzon, Türkiye, 25 - 28 Eylül 2019, cilt.1, ss.15-33
Today, in an era of unprecedented advances in technology and science, both
the population growth and the other problems concerning the habitats had a
profound effect on the architectural building problems, making this issue one
of the priority matters for architecture. In the context of various attempts to
come up with solutions, an architectural perspective that is focused more on
technology, proficiency and scientific data, while unfortunately putting
emotions, intuition and experiences to the backburner, has arisen. In
conclusion, one cannot deny the fact that masses of identical buildings, which
exist in disconnect from their roots and which can readily belong to anywhere,
effectively render the built environment spaces which are “homelessness and
worldless”. In this context, the definition of being “homelessness and
worldless” in the context of philosophy and architecture, analyzing it with
reference to architectural buildings, and providing examples of its actual
appearance in new bodies is considered a worthwhile endeavor in tune with
the “Replacing Architecture” theme.
Parallel to this background, instead of building “homelessness and worldless”
spaces, the philosophy proposing “emotions”, “intuitions”, “experiences”
developed by German philosopher Martin Heidegger, who formed his own
approach on the concepts of “construction”, “housing”, and “space”. Through
his challenge to the conventional attitudes towards these concepts, Heidegger
recommended architects “a true model of architecture” based on the
mentioned concepts, against the concepts mired in the predicaments of
technology and the modern world. To emphasize this issue, the Sancaklar
Mosque will be exemplified with Heideggerian philosophy, by Heideggerian
concepts; “emotions”, “intuitions”, “experiences”.
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In his day, Heidegger came to be convinced that providing residence in the
contemporary world became an issue in the face of the construction problem,
and duly believed that building took its form and organization around the
existence of man, and that very existence was bound to generate some order
in time. Heidegger claims that the contemporary man he considers “homeless”
has been engaged in the “pursuit of a place” and “a home for himself”. In this
perspective, the human is always “on the path”, always in search of the
“essence of residence”.
Predicting the sunset for architecture to come as the buildings begin to be
perceived as machines, Heidegger proposes a perception of space as a site
for interaction and experience, rather than simply as a structure. His approach
to the existence within the world is through the concept of “Dasein (being
there)” which refers to the human’s existence in connection with space. To
Heidegger, therefore, the building rises around the existence of human.
And thus, in his conception, the building finds its shape around the human
existence. The man’s relationship with the place occurs through identification
with the space, based on the “emotions”, “intuitions”, and “experiences” of the
person. That is exactly the case at Sancaklar Mosque. In open rebellion
against the patterns based on form by dogma religious concepts, the design
addresses emotional perceptions and physical interaction. This place is about
belonging, and existence within the world. But it also does not belong to any
culture or country...
Sancaklar Mosque was completed in 2013 and located in Büyükçekmece
district of Istanbul, stands out today among the most important
representatives of modern Islamic architecture. Designed by Emre Arolat with
an obvious will to overcome all taboos associated with mosques, Sancaklar
Mosque directly addresses the humanity. It is based on “emotions”,
“intuitions”, and “experiences”. It helps us understand the “relationship
between man and the place” as Heidegger put it. Sancaklar Mosque not only
boasts most of the elements expected of a place of worship in Islam, but also
effectively upsets all these conceptions while doing so...
In this way, the paper will entail a reinterpretation of being “homelessness and
worldless” from a Heideggerian perspective so as to pave the way for critical
thinking for the architectural building problems of our day, and will utilize a
critical outlook based on Sancaklar Mosque example. The “Replacing
Architecture” theme will be discussed through a proposition based on the
“space in search of / bereft of a space”, and the “concepts in search of a
meaning and form”. The analyses will be concluded with a kind of “replacing”
of the spaces, shapes and forms through the use of concepts, culminating in a
“re-definition” and “incarnation in new bodies”.
Key Words: Martin Heidegger; Homelessness/Worldless; Emotions/
Intuitions/Experiences; Emre Arolat; Sancaklar Mosque.