A study for the spatial transformation of post offices to public communication points, loosing their functionality due to the recent developments in information technologies

Post offices, which have a long historical background to fulfil the communicational needs of community, nowadays decrease in functionality because of the advances in Information Technologies. Considering the strategic importance of the post offices due to their structured physical network throughout the country, many different projects are carried out worldwide, in order to sustain their being. In this research, to what extent it is possible to transform post offices into Public Communication Points, in order to maintain their presence, is studied. In this frame, it is believed that, if the post offices and their built environment are analyzed with respect to the criteria described as being public and the methods given in Post Occupancy Evaluation theories, it is possible to define the communicational needs of the region and design the spatial organization schemes in parallel with the findings. So, 99 post offices selected from the city of Istanbul as the pilot region, are collected in 14 groups and analyzed. With the outcomes, the idea that post offices must be kept and the need to sustain them physically is established, while solutions for a ?general scheme?, 3 schemes involving ?spatial organization for residential areas?, ?spatial organization for business and trading areas?, ?spatial organization for transportation nodes involving more than one basic function? and alternative non-spatial solutions are also shaped. As a result, a method that can also be used for the transformation of other public buildings is proposed, in order to explain the social and strategically important role of the public spaces. Keywords Post offices and postal services, Post Occupancy Evaluation, space planning, spatial transformation, Information Technologies