Turgut Cansever as an architect, thinker and aesthete in the context of sociology of arcitecture

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Tezin Türü: Yüksek Lisans

Tezin Yürütüldüğü Kurum: Bursa Uludağ Üniversitesi, SOSYAL BİLİMLER ENSTİTÜSÜ, Türkiye

Tezin Onay Tarihi: 2019

Tezin Dili: İngilizce

Öğrenci: Olena Lupalo

Danışman: BENGÜL GÜNGÖRMEZ AKOSMAN

Özet:

When architecture and sociology are mentioned in the same context, it is obvious to that discussion will go about the social problems of architecture, architecture within society and architecture as an environment for the functioning of people. The study was focused primarily on the interdisciplinary status of the sociology of architecture, and it was assumed that this branch of sociological knowledge includes not only sociology and architecture, but the sphere of aesthetics and political theory. Moreover, in this context, the object of the research was not only the sociology of architecture itself, but also one of the Turkish architects Turgut Cansever. Cansever is the only architect in the world who has won the Aga Khan Award three times. His contribution to the theory of architecture and urban development is extremely important and very innovative for its time. A theoretical analysis of the works of Cansever and a comparison of his ideas with other modern thinkers were made. The architect himself does not only reflect on the art of architecture, but is also a good philosopher, speaking of human relations and the meaning of human existence. The dualistic approach to understanding man does not satisfy him, and, as was defined in this work, the more accurate and detailed is the consideration of the world through four levels: material, bio-social, psychological and spiritual. For Cansever, architecture is an attempt to give shape to the environment, and the main task of humans is to beautify the latter. It was also noted in the work that some researchers consider Cansever a traditionalist and a conservative, as he holds relatively restrained views and is a great critic of modernism. Although, according to the author, Cansever is not at all a traditionalist (in a negative sense), but on the contrary is a modern thinker who kept up with the times. Moreover, the views of Turgut Cansever on urban planning and policies that the Ottoman Empire used towards the architecture lead to the conclusion that Cansever had rather democratic views on the state and on the structure of society as a whole. This dissertation not only opens the sociology of architecture and, in particular, Turgut Сansever from a different perspective, but also once again opens up such topics as aesthetics, power, modernism. This also serves as an impetus for further researches and development of this trend in Turkish sociology.