Increasing the imageability of public space with art objects: A case study of Eskişehir Osmangazi University Meşelik Campus

While the depictions created by objects and concepts in the mind constitute the image, the quality of the physical space that has the possibility of creating a strong image in the observer is defined as "Imaginability". Imaginability is possible when there is not only a visual relationship between the space and the observer, but also a strong communication with other senses. The cities we live in and experience with all our senses are formed by the combination of the images we create in social memory. The intensively used areas of the city form the image of the city with the spread of images, images, identities and traces in the collective memory of the users, and this image reveals the sensory communication that connects the individual and the city. People's feelings and memories of the environment they live in and the meanings they attribute to it reveal the image of that environment and determine its imaginability. The imaginability of public spaces, which are places of collective life in cities, varies according to the active use of that space, the presence of memorable objects that lead to the interaction of different senses and the sensory relationship formed in that space. The presence of attention-grabbing art objects that break the mediocrity of the space increases the imaginability of that space and triggers the user's desire to interact with that space. This study aims to examine the concept of art in public space and to investigate the contribution of artworks to image formation in urban public spaces. Following conceptual research and investigations, a sample case study is carried out at Eskişehir Osmangazi University Meşelik campus. First of all, the frequently used focal points of the university campus were determined, various artistic works were placed at these points by the photography method, and the effect of the prepared visuals on the users and their contribution to the imageability of the public space were investigated. By placing artworks applied in various public spaces around the world at the focal points of the university campus using the photography method, the changes that users will experience in reading the visual and physical space of the campus have been tried to be determined.