Architectural representation as criticism instrument (1960-1990)

ABSTRACT ARCHITECTURAL REPRESENTATION AS CRITICISM INSTRUMENT (1960-1990) Tuğçe DEMİRHAN Department of Architecture Anadolu University, Graduate School of Science, April 2019 Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Nuray ÖZASLAN Architecture is the activity of building structures which constructs the physical, sociological and cultural context of human being by constructing structures representing them in accordance with changing conditions. However, from the 15th century on when rational information was decisive, architectural activities began not to be limited by the construction site. Besides, the representations of the structures have also developed and the architecture has gained a new identity as an intellectual action. Accordingly, the architect gained status not only as a constructor but also as a person or an authority who performs the act of design with the instruments of representation. However, this power that the architect has gained as the person who carries out the designing action is an illusion. Because, every design produced by the architect in order to contribute to the construction world is shaped not only by the architect but also by the control mechanisms that are effective in the geography and time in which the design is built. In the modern period, while the political and economic control mechanisms have increased their power and scope of activity, a critical attitude towards in sociology, philosophy and art has emerged, and architecture has become instrumental by losing its power of criticism. As a result of the devastating consequences of the two world wars in the first half of the twentieth century, a number of artists and architects who refused to be the actors of architecture, which were instrumental in the field of architecture as in art and other fields since 1960, stood out by abstracting themselves from the building process and with their critical productions at the intersection of artistic and architectural representation. These productions, which are not directly related to construction, are evaluated within the framework of antiarchitecture, have enriched and advanced the debate about the essence of architecture, as opposed to threatening architecture. Key Words: Art, Architecture, Representation, Criticism, Anti-Architecture