FAHRETTIN ERSIN ALACA ERSIN FAHRETTIN FAHRETTIN ERSIN ALACA Globalising a Design Heritage Strategy From Finland’s Artek to Turkey’s Grand Bazaar Heritage Strategy Heritage Globalising a Design a Design Globalising Globalising a Design Heritage Strategy From Finland’s Artek to Turkey’s Grand Bazaar FAHRETTIN ERSIN ALACA Globalising a Design Heritage Strategy From Finland’s Artek to Turkey’s Grand Bazaar Aalto University publication series DOCTORAL DISSERTATIONS 194/2017 Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture Department of Design Aalto ARTS Books Helsinki, Finland © Fahrettin Ersin Alaca Graphic design: Emmi Kyytsönen Materials: Munken Pure 120 g and 300 g ISBN 978-952-60-7655-3 (printed) ISBN 978-952-60-7654-6 (pdf) ISSN-L 1799-4934 ISSN 1799-4934 (printed) ISSN 1799-4942 (pdf) Unigrafia Helsinki 2017 Contents Acknowledgements 8 Abstract 10 Özet 12 Keywords 13 CHAPTER 1: Introduction 14 1.1 Research Context: Aims, Specifities, and Questions 16 1.2 Theoretical Structure and Key Conceptualisations 22 1.3 Methodology and Limitations 35 The first case study 35 The second case study 40 CHAPTER 2: Introducing Heritage as a Research Agenda in Sustainable Design 46 2.1 Design as Cultural Heritage 48 2.2 Managing the “Social Dilemma” of Consumption 50 2.3 Framing a Research Domain: in the Face of Emerging Responsibilities and Opportunities for Design 59 2.4 Recognising Design and Business within the Complexity of Systems 70 2.5 Formulating the Research 76 Harnessing heritage 78 Heritage in tourism sector 80 Heritage in corporate marketing and brand management 82 Heritage on slowness 90 CHAPTER 3: In the Dialogue between Old and New 92 3.1 The Temporal Zone of “Supplementation” 94 Analysing the role of retro in supplementation and the potential for feasible sustainability transformation 98 3.2 Towards a Management of Permanent Valorisation in Design: the Social Nature 109 Understanding permanent valorisation in artefacts 115 Recognising the potentials of permanent valorisation 119 3.3 Categories of Permanent Valorisation in Design 125 3.4 Understanding Heroes and Myths in Consumer Culture and Design Heritage: Robert Capa and The Falling Soldier 135 CHAPTER 4: Selling the Shared History: Artek’s 2nd Cycle Project and Vintage Store 146 4.1 Experiencing the 2nd Cycle and Vintage Store 149 4.2 Background of the 2nd Cycle Project 156 The emergence of “Design Heroism” in Finland and Alvar Aalto: an insight into the building materials of the Finnish design mythology 157 Artek’s involvement in the mythology 174 Aalto as a “cultural icon” 181 4.3 The Initial Steps of the nd2 Cycle Project 190 4.4 The Project’s Expansion 201 Expansion to Berlin 206 4.5 Meanings and Potentials for Sustainability 210 The survey on meanings and potentials 212 Emergence of consumers in the Finnish design mythology 216 CHAPTER 5: Scaling across Emerging Markets: Turkey’s Grand Bazaar 222 5.1 Design Heritage as “Common Stock” 224 5.2 Emerging Markets: a Discussion on Feasibility and Necessity for the Thesis’ Scalability 227 5.3 Conceptualising Turkish Design Heritage: defining the Complexity of the Turkish Cultural Reservoir 230 5.4 Towards a Mythology for Turkish Design Heritage 233 5.5 Exploring a “Cultural Icon”: the Grand Bazaar 236 Framing the tourism potentials: why do we need a design mythology? 246 5.6 Shaping the Akhi Myth: narrating the Foundational Identity of the Bazaar 250 5.7 Inside the Bazaar: Interviews 257 The bazaar’s perceived temporality: stuck in the present moment 258 Downfall of crafts: culture of replication and easy money 263 The collaborators 274 Incubation, participation, and governing 284 CHAPTER 6: Analysis of Turkey as a Representative Case for Cross-cultural Transferability 292 6.1 The Emerging Turkish Market 294 The economic and cultural status of consumption 294 Design’s background and popularity in Turkey 300 The “Memory Boom” in the Turkish market and design 306 Recognising the market opportunity: the dilemmas of memory and authenticity 315 CHAPTER 7: Conclusions 322 7.1 Conclusions 324 7.2 Principles of Scalability: common Stock for Design Heritage Management 329 7.3 An Open Call to Designers 341 References 344 Online References 355 Figure References 362 Acknowledgements Throughout the long journey of this research study, I have received helpful support from a great number of people and institutions in building my theories and perspec- tives. When expressing my sincere appreciation to them, I believe, priority should be given to the multitude of interviewees who have generously shared their opinions and memories. A special mention should be devoted here to the staff members of Artek. In some sections of the dissertation, I was not able to address interviewee identities. For example, due to sensitivity of issues discussed in the context of the Grand Bazaar, I have kept the identities of the interviewees anonymous by replacing their names with numbers. I am indebted to these people who courageously revealed the problems in the bazaar and Istanbul’s craft sector. I am grateful to my thesis supervisor, Professor Pekka Korvenmaa from the Aalto University, for his patient guidance. His continuous support, from the very early phase to the completion of research, has been a major contributor shaping this thesis. Besides my supervisor, I would like to thank the preliminary examiners of my thesis, Professor Anders V. Munch from the University of Southern Denmark and Professor Özlem Er from the Istanbul Technical University. Their critical comments have greatly helped me to improve my theoretical and methodological framework in numerous ways. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the faculty members of my previous universities both in Turkey and Sweden who encouraged me to conduct this research. I would like to express my gratitude to Aalto University’s Design Department for the temporary contract. My sincere thanks go to Aalto ARTS for several travel grants that supported almost all of my conference presentations. Aalto ARTS has also given financial support to the printing of this book. I would like to thank the editor, Sini Linteri. I would also like to gratefully mention Sanna Tyyri-Pohjonen from Aalto ARTS Books, for the encouragement. Emmi Kyytsönen deserves a spe- cial mention for the design of this book. I also appreciate the kind help extended to me by the archive departments of the Helsinki Design Museum, Vitra Design Mu- seum, Suomen Taideteollisuusyhdistys/Aalto University, and Alvar Aalto Museum. I would like to express my special appreciation to my friends. I feel blessed that I was granted with the support of so many people both in Finland and Turkey. To name just a few of them, Woo Jin Chung provided me with great help, especially during the initial year of my studies. His design-related wisdom continued to guide me with enlightening lessons in the following years. My research colleagues David Muñoz Alcántara and Giovanna Esposito Yussif supported me with wonderful friendship. Throughout the entire period of my studies, I always felt their solidarity and took inspiration from their creative minds. They also became key players shaping the exhibition project inspired by this research at Helsinki Design Museum. I am indebted to Ali Rıza Özlü and Timuçin Erşen for their mental and material contri- bution throughout the entire journey of this research. 8 Last but not the least, I would like to acknowledge the unconditional patience of my family. Without their precious support, it would not have been possible to conduct this research. I dedicate this study to my family. 9 Abstract This doctoral study argues that the historical assets of design, engraved in living forms of collective memory, can be effectively engaged in the service of the appropri- ation and promotion of slower modes of consumption as opposed to the dominant and systematic novelty mechanism of fast fashion. The hypothesis is that a sustain- ability strategy employing design heritage and encouraging durable consumption can be helpful to avoid conflicts of interest between the transforming business commu- nity and its customers. Therefore, a heritage management strategy is proposed that emphasises feasibility and taps into existing socio- and politico-economic networks while suggesting positive changes in consumer behaviour. Due to the commercial and cultural popularity of permanent valorisation in design, this special design phenomenon is chosen as a specific field of design herit- age. The potentials of enduring artefacts are recognised, and the study proposes fur- ther that these artefacts may become vehicles to achieve the strategy identified. To this end, the study employs an interdisciplinary review of several relevant literatures, transferring concepts and categories into the context of design heritage management. The findings of this review are further engaged in the analysis of a real-world case: the 2nd Cycle project by the iconic Finnish housewares company Artek. The analysis illustrates how the long-established company’s cultural and historical products are reproduced and capitalised in conformity with emerging consumer aspirations and needs. Drawing links between permanent valorisation, product longevity, and ultimately sustainable consumption, Artek’s project provides inspiring results how design heritage may lead to enhanced social good while taking advantage of new economic opportunities, know-how, and human capacities. Subsequently, special attention is given to the potential cross-cultural transfer- ability of the heritage management strategy represented by this Finnish case. For this purpose, Artek’s case is taken as a cultivation of new sensibilities capable of translating a diversity of historical capital possessed by different cultures into herit- age. Considering the constant growth of economic capacities and alarming levels of consumer spending, developing countries, known as emerging markets, are chosen as adaptation areas. Turkey, for example, whose historical, social, and cultural structure is distinct from that of Finland, provides a favourably challenging test environment for the thesis’ applicability.