Examining the relationship between epidemic diseases and architecture through the concept of biopolitics

Epidemics have been changing the world sociologically, ecologically, psychologically, economically and physiologically since ancient times in human history. These changes and the concept of pandemic, which were widely considered in the previous centuries, came to the agenda again with the Covid-19 outbreak in a period when it started to lose its effect in the 21st century. With the pandemic we are experiencing today, we have been able to observe the effects of the pandemic from our own perspective, both individually and globally. After a few years of fighting the pandemic, this process has led us to question our daily life, our view of human relations and the environment in the event of a pandemic, and accordingly, the characteristics and possibilities of the built environment. In order to understand current and future pandemics, it is important to look at past pandemics and their effects. Doing this historical reading through the human body, population and politics prevents examining the subtexts of the subject and looking at epidemics only as "spontaneous" diseases or situations that occur "coincidentally". For this reason, in Chapter 2 of the thesis, the concepts of biopolitics and biopower are explored through the thinker Michel Foucault, who introduced the concepts, and the relationship of these concepts with the concepts of epidemics, modern medicine, governmentality, individual and society is questioned. As a result of this inquiry, it has been concluded that with the development of epidemics and modern medicine over the years, the power's view of the individual and, accordingly, society in the context of the understanding of governance has changed and that this change has affected today's health system, social governance and epidemic management in the current epidemic situation. In Chapter 3, which is examined in the light of these concepts, the developments and historical events caused by epidemics from the period when humanity adopted settled life and transitioned to agricultural society to the modernization period and the present time are examined. Examining the effects of epidemics on human history and the world before looking only at their reflections on the physical environment and design is very important in terms of addressing the issue in a multidimensional way and establishing a cause-and-effect relationship. Therefore, when we look at Chapter 3 in general, we can see that epidemics have changed and influenced the current population and ethnicity distribution of the world, the history and discovery of the American continent, the industrial revolution and later the modernism periods, the emergence of hygiene architecture and modern architecture, the view of art and literature and the works given. In addition, this chapter also examines the relationship between ecology and epidemics as a necessity brought about by the scenarios of the emergence and spread of epidemics, and it is seen that epidemics are not a "natural necessity" but diseases that are born and spread by anthropogenic activities. The analysis of works of art and literature have been important guides for obtaining information and envisioning what was experienced, especially in the pre-modern period, when there were limited resources on epidemics and the destruction they caused. The works examined have helped us understand the epidemic process and psychology of the period and have enabled us to establish a connection between the epidemic processes experienced centuries ago and the epidemic period we are experiencing today and to realize that despite the time difference, they are quite similar processes. The results of the relationship between the history of epidemics examined in this chapter and the history of humanity are presented in Chapter 4. With the classification made, the effects of epidemics were examined at different scales. Four of these examinations differ in size and one in temporal terms. The resulting effects are classified as the impact of epidemics on the urban scale, the impact on the architectural scale, the impact on the spatial scale, the impact on the body and the impact on the ideas of utopia/dystopia. Analyzing the effects of epidemics that took place at different times on a similar scale under the same heading has led to the establishment of relationships and the emergence of similarities between the consequences of epidemics. Another benefit of this way of classification was to realize that the consequences of pandemics can have repercussions at very different scales such as body, idea, society and city, and that these can trigger each other. There are two different planes in the classification: temporal and dimensional. Within the classification according to scales, changes in the past, in the present - due to the pandemic period we are in - and in future ideas are shown. Therefore, within this timeline, the past, present and future are analyzed through the same subject. As a result of the research conducted and the data uncovered in the thesis, it has been seen that epidemics are caused not by a fatalistic approach but by anthropogenic reasons and that these results have continued until today, starting with the transition to agricultural society. Keeping the relationship between ecology and human settlements in balance is very important not only for living creatures and nature but also for humans. The most important problem in the emergence of epidemics is seen as the disruption of the ecological balance and the violation of the boundaries of wild nature. The changes in epidemics over time have also been revealed in the studies. Epidemics such as plague and malaria, which captured the pre-modern period, continued to occur for years in different periods because treatment management was unknown. In the modern period after the industrial revolution, it was observed that the structure of epidemics changed, especially in the 19th and 20th centuries, many epidemics occurred in the same period, but the duration of epidemics shortened with the development of medicine and the discovery of treatment management. Nevertheless, diseases such as Cholera, Tuberculosis, Spanish Flu, AIDS have caused great destruction, and this situation has shown that epidemics have gained momentum with the effect of urbanization and industrialization, and although the solution is found in shorter periods with modern medicine, its lethal effect is high. Urbanization and industrialization and the use of natural resources, which lie at the basis of the relationship between modernism and pandemics, will continue to cause similar pandemics if measures are not taken according to research. Another conclusion to be drawn from the Covid-19 pandemic that has entered our lives is that lifestyles have started to change. While remote working and distance education systems were viewed with prejudice before the pandemic, the importance of mobility has increased as it became mandatory in the pandemic. Many companies have permanently switched to a remote working system, and some educational institutions and courses have been seen to offer distance education as well as face-to-face education. Another concept that has increased in importance with the pandemic has been flexibility. The importance of flexible spaces became more evident during the quarantine periods, and structures that can change and transform according to different uses have gained importance. In addition, points such as balconies and terraces, where our contact with natural light and air increases, have also been among the issues discussed during the pandemic. Establishing a relationship between natural elements and buildings, and the fact that this relationship can transform and transform according to demand and be suitable for different uses has emerged as a great advantage. As can be seen, the pandemic period has played a major role in changing our perception of space and our needs as well as working and education systems. These points reached as a result of the examinations in the thesis are important for understanding the character, functioning, consequences and, most importantly, prevention of epidemics. With the results that can be drawn from the past and the present, it may be possible to predict the possible epidemics and their effects that may occur in the coming periods. Keywords: epidemic, pandemic, biopolitics, biopower, ecology, urbanization, Covid-19, modernism, modern architecture,healthy architecture