Analysis of the concepts of child and space through voronoi diagrams

Children are the group most affected by urbanization processes in cities The open green spaces in urban areas are rapidly diminishing in terms of their availability as quality spaces that should be allocated for children due to irregular urbanization and the steadily increasing urban population. However, quality children's play areas within cities are the first spaces where children engage with the outside world and socialize. Children's playgrounds' creation by local governments often consisting of equipment primarily made from artificial materials, featuring uniform designs, and their selection as standard playgrounds rather than designs adapted to the topographical characteristics of the area all lead to limited educational benefits children derive from play. It is known that such areas frequently encountered in practice are insufficient in terms of revealing children's exploratory tendencies and even improving their motor development. Due to these developments in cities, children prefer to spend most of their time engaging in activities at home rather than playing outside. Due to the increasing adoption of these preferences by families and children, the cognitive, emotional, and social behaviors that could be gained from playing outside cannot be utilized. In examining all these processes, the concepts of "Child" and "Play-Toy" in kindergartens, where children take their first steps in education, emerge as the primary elements to be addressed in schoolyard designs. With the integration of digital methods in contemporary architecture, the use of geometric formations found in nature has increased in landscape designs. One of the conceptual methods mentioned, the Voronoi diagram, forms the main framework of the study and has been considered to develop a practical and theoretical approach to the design of the children's playground. This thesis study is structured around designing the spatial patterns of the children's playground at Hacere Usta Kindergarten in Rize city as educational children's play areas using the Voronoi diagram. In the study, the designs based on Voronoi design criteria were evaluated with input from different user groups, in addition to the primary users of the kindergarten: parents, teachers/instructors, and children. The use of Voronoi diagram to examine the spatial patterns in landscape designs and their impact on the concepts of "Child-Play-Toy" in relation to children's education constitutes the core model of the research. In the developed designs, the landscape projects created using the Voronoi diagram, which were designed considering the challenges faced in the current situation and the expectations of users, were evaluated to determine whether they meet the needs of children's play areas based on the principles of "functionality, aesthetics, and ecology. The study concluded that the concepts of play and toys, which play a significant role in children's education, play an effective role in playgrounds designed using Voronoi diagrams.