Experiential representation of space: Case of Venice Biennale 12th International Architecture exhibition

Doesn't the problem of representational mediums commonly used being more technical than experiential require thinking about new representational environments? Can architectural exhibitions, with their unique spatiality, be designed as representational environments whose referent is spatial experience? In line with these questions, by accepting the architectural exhibition as a medium of architectural representation, the study aims to position the architectural exhibition as an experiential representation and to discuss the representation of the experiential qualities of space through the exhibition. In order to analyze the relationship between architectural representation and spatial experience, the concept of experiential representation is used. Experiential representation refers to types of representation that do not refer to an existing object, that embody the architectural idea, and that can be associated with the experience of space. Experiential representations are experiential tools that open up the architectural space to the subject's experience and interpretation. At this point, it is necessary to draw attention to the structure of representational experience. It is important to distinguish between the medium and the content of a representational experience because the representational experience is determined by the qualities of the content. Experiential representations are therefore expected to convey the experiential qualities of space. Seven qualities (light-shadow, acoustics-sound, proportion-scale, color-texture, movement, temporality, landscape-the relationship established with place), which are called experiential qualities of space and obtained through literature research, are proposed as a tool that can be used to evaluate representational environments and the 12th International Architecture Exhibition of the Venice Biennale is examined through these qualities. The findings drew attention to how spatial qualities are represented and how the representational experience is structured by interpreting the representation of the experiential qualities of the space through the exhibition and the fictional decisions that affect the entire exhibition as a medium of architectural representation have been revealed. Keywords: architecture exhibition, architectural representation, experiential representation, experiential qualities of space, experience of space, perceptual experience, Venice Biennale