Organization of space in society of consumption, an approach on shopping centers

Purpose of this study is to analyse effect of the concept of consumption, which is a phenomenon of the modern world, on the space in example of shopping centres and to explain results of such analysis. Relation of architecture with the social structure has resulted in creation of different types of architectures. Today, it is observed that both the social structure and the space ? byproduct of the social structure- have been shaped under influences of by economic phenomena. The thesis first provided an insight for today?s society, which is called as the consumption society, and explained the concepts of consumption, consumption society, and consumption culture. It was explained in the thesis that consumption-oriented understanding has organised the society and in turn the space on basis of consumptioncentric approaches. Following that explanation, an analysis of shopping centres, which were selected as example for consumption-centric spatial organisation, was provided. Impacts of rationalisation efforts adopted to increase consumption in the shopping centres designed were explained in context of commercial programming and architectural programming. Selected examples revealed that such rationalisation efforts, which also entailed selection of location, planning diagrams, content of the buildings, and architectural elements used in the buildings, were dominant in design of shopping centres. In the final analysis, it was determined that creation of shopping centres is a consequence of some works aiming in increasing of consumption, that architectural design process is shaped with requirements of such works, and that the architectural structure has been, in returned, downsized to nothing but an infrastructure for the affecting commercial formation.