Thinking and producing the future in the practical and educational fields of architecture during and after the Covid 19 pandemic

When the changes and transformations that architecture has experienced in the historical process are examined in a cause-effect relationship, it has been observed that these changes and transformations emerge as the adaptation or integration of architecture in the fields of thought and practice in the face of certain effects. The Covid-19 pandemic experienced nowadays has caused some effects in the field of architecture as well as in numerous areas of life. This study considers the pandemic as a situation and aims to examine the adaptations and integrations in the discipline of architecture against the effects of this situation, in other words, the reactions of architecture in the field of education and practice. In this context, the scope of the study is current education and practical environments. Considering the profound effects of Covid-19 on every aspect of daily life, it can be claimed that there has been a major break in educational and structural practices related to architectural thoughts and practices. In the context of this purpose, scope, and claims, a two-phased method was followed as a research methodology in this study. The first of these is in-depth interviews which were conducted with a total of 20 people, including 10 academic educators and 10 architect educators, who are experts in their fields. Throughout the interviews, 8 main questions were asked in various fields regarding the present and future of architecture. An online thinking platform called "arch. futures" has been established to conduct interviews and thus collect information and data on the current state of the education and practical environment. The videos containing the in-depth interviews were transcribed and decoded using the MaxQda-18 program. During deciphering, the texts were matched with the concepts in the context of the subjects they included with the coding method. The connections of the concepts with the research questions and their frequency of use were examined by the mapping method. In the concept map obtained, distinctive concept relationships were identified, and concepts were analyzed in the context of these relationships. The survey, which is the second stage of the study, was applied to the participants who completed the first stage. The survey was supported by new insights and questions that emerged from the in-depth interviews. Through the questionnaire, an opportunity was created for the participants to re-evaluate some areas that were out of the scope of the discussion or overlooked during the interview process. The pandemic has had a significant impact on a clearer perception of the different problems that are known to exist in both the educational and practical fields of architecture. It can be said that this effect generates rethinking and questioning the educational and practical fields of architecture. In-depth interviews and findings from the survey indicate that the originality, content, and actuality of the education system should be rearranged according to the age of technology and should be integrated with technology. It has also been shown that it is necessary to be more inquisitive and critical in the face of events and situation, and to be sensitive to social and environmental problems within the framework of ethical rules. As a result, it can be said that the pandemic, which played a triggering role in the emergence of all these inquiries, constituted an important breaking point in the field of architecture.