Contemporary reflections of traditional architecture on interior architecture and environmental design '' a semiotic study on the residences of Bodrum ''

In recent history and even today, it is a frequently encountered phenomenon to observe designers – architects use traditional architectural elements in their designs of buildings in the Bodrum Peninsula. In search of finding an answer for the preference of such architectural elements, it is interesting to see that dwellers also enjoy these designs. However, it should be noted that today, such traditional architectural elements have lost their function and there are no scientific research methods that fully explain this occurrence. Therefore, it is crucial to dig into the reasons of such admiration and throw some light on the phenomenon of these designs ''being appreciated''. In this research, the reasons for the use of such traditional architectural elements and the phenomenon of ''dwellers' appreciation'' are analyzed within the light of linguistics, semantics and semiotics all of which have not yet been traditionally and commonly used methods in the field of architecture. ''Seeing, perceiving, expressing and evaluating'' which are all a totality of sequential actions, are analysed within the limits of semiotical research methods so that reasons for the ongoing admiration for the long lost function of traditional architectural elements could tackled. As a process, the totality of these aforementioned actions are in parallel with scientific steps: the semantic aspect of these actions correlate with linguistics while the semiotic aspects correlate with semantics. This research intends to surmise and interpret the findings based on one of the basic concepts of semiotics that is connotation. The first chapter discusses the action of seeing, its description, history and relationship with architecture. The second chapter discusses the action of perceiving, its description, history and relationship with architecture. The third chapter discusses linguistics, its description, history and relationship with architecture. The fourth chapter discusses semantics, its description, history and relationship with architecture. The fifth chapter discusses semiotics, its description, history and relationship with architecture. Finally, the last chapter introduces the research method that was applied: as a summative research, the purpose and its extend is discussed with an emphasis on its property as an applied research rather than a theoretical one. The setting of the research, as a field study, is contrasted with laboratory studies. In the research, data collection and analysis are conducted through interviews; thus, eliminating an empirical aspect which allows archiving. As a scientific research method, contrary to a quantitative research, the study focuses on visual analysis making it a qualitative research. Furthermore, from the standpoint of research data type, based on the independent variable, it can be classified as qualitative rather than quantitative. From the aspect of data collection technique a semi-structured interview technique is used. The research does not base its data collection technique on observation, documentation, testing or survey. Therefore, from the standpoint of sampling methods, it would be fair to note that improbable sampling is used based on purposeful sampling. Furthermore, the last chapter discusses the purpose of choosing the specific field of study. It also presents pilot studies which initially paved the path for picking the right architectural elements and concepts which were used in the questionnaire. A description for the application of the summative research, a list of architectural elements and conclusion charts are also included. In conclusion, the reason for the ongoing use of traditional architectural elements in designs and the admiration for them by its dwellers in the Bodrum Peninsula stem from the emotions and thoughts they inspire in the individuals. People perceive signs by means of emotions which, in turn, lead to interpretation and this sums up the process the psyche uses to make sense out of the signs it is exposed to. It can be surmised that Semiology, a branch of science that examines the formation of the signs, their relations with each other, the connections they have established and their meanings, can be applied in the field of architecture. This research uses subjects who were asked to interpret architectural elements with a semiotical approach. It can be deduced that applying a semiotical approach can be useful in the analysis and decision-making processes of architectural designs. Additionally, it will be beneficial to enrich and diversify the vocabulary for semiotical concepts related to architectural design processes so that a conceptually advanced level can be achieved.