Media Architecture: Interaction between Media and Architecture in the Postmodern Epoch

Technology of the 21st century is changing rapidly in the postmodern world of consumerism. As we move from industrial toward information epoch, built environment become precisely augmented with the trends of commercialization. The breakout of modernism brings up the Postmodernism in late 1970`s where urban space and architecture were faced with signs and symbols once again. Consumerism society was become a debatable issue in the 21st century. Changing trends in world by the means of globalization shaped society and public territory with the improvements in media and technology. Brand new dimension has been brought into urban zones with commercialization. Commercialization began to develop in physical and computerized ways and have begun to contribute disorderly in the built environment. Expansion of working with media causes to have cyberspaces with the utilization of media elements, for example, advertisements, board. Technological developments, and improvement of media and visual arts cause change in the direction of contemporary architecture with the globalization and domination of capitalism. Facades gain new media integrated skin to its external skins of buildings; and society who are the main user of the public space gained a new way of interaction through the media integrated cutting edge technology. Channing technological trends shape the formation of building façade. The main motivation of this thesis is to investigate essential ideas behind the utilization of advanced media facade on buildings. Extraordinary emphasis on innovation and visual media, it is intended to see how architecture is influenced and its advancement in postmodernism. Theoretical section is supported with cases from developed countries where media architecture is popular trend, other case is “1001 Airport Mall” selected from Nicosia, North Cyprus which is from 3rd world country with too many political problems. After theoretical examination, end of the study will create understanding towards the integration of media and architecture through its evolution and how building form and spatial organization is affected in architectural scale. Finally, changing urban space with the media architecture will be discussed. Keywords: Postmodernism, Media Architecture, Consumer Society, Augmented Surface & Hybrid Space, Visual Media