Themed hotels in the kundu region of Antalya : An evaluation of the spatial patterns of placelessness

In the discipline of architecture, space, as a domain of social knowledge and production, transforms into place when it comes into contact with people and life. Place is a constantly evolving entity, a space imbued with meaning, identity, and culture. Until modernism, place maintained its unique character, but with the changes brought about by the cycles of capitalist production and consumption, it began to lose its distinctive qualities, leading to a condition of placelessness. During this period, social life was shaped by economic dynamics. Consequently, the concepts of time and space became quantified and separated from one another. In particular, the globalization of capitalism and rapid technological advancements increased the pace of everyday life. This acceleration diminished the significance of space through time and reduced the concept of time to a fleeting moment. This new global phenomenon has placed the concept of consumption at the center of people's lives. Today, individuals, driven by a constant expectation of intense pleasure, continuously desire what is different and consume accordingly. As a result, this tendency has also influenced the production of space. In this context, spaces are designed through a visual-centric approach, by transforming the characteristics that define places into perceivable images, and are consumed visually. One of the most prominent examples of such produced and consumed spaces is accommodation facilities, which are shaped in line with the increasing demands of tourists with consumer-driven identities. Therefore, in order to meet tourists' expectations, themed hotels, based on fantasy and fiction and independent of time and space, have begun to be designed. Themed hotels can be considered meaningful with their extraordinary designs, particularly in desert settlements such as Las Vegas and Dubai, where there is no historical, cultural, or geographical design input. However, in places like Antalya, which possess unique historical and cultural values, themed hotel, with their context-detached designs, lead to placelessness. In this thesis, the reason behind the concentration of themed hotels in the city of Antalya, a place rich in natural, cultural, and historical heritage, despite such hotels typically emerging in contexts lacking these qualities, is questioned. Based on this reasoning, the study investigates which spatial patterns are employed in the design of themed hotels that contribute to placelessness. In line with this objective, a comprehensive literature review was first conducted to identify the reasons behind the concentration of themed hotels in a region like Antalya, which possesses a rich natural, cultural, and historical heritage. It was determined that the dominant tourism model aligns with this type of spatial organization, and that globally prevalent spatial patterns based on placelessness are well-suited to mass tourism and the all-inclusive system. Following this, a field study was carried out within the scope of the thesis to identify the tendencies toward placelessness in themed hotels located in the Kundu region of Antalya.