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An Inquiry of Space Architecture: Design Considerations and Design Process

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An Inquiry of Space Architecture: Design Considerations and Design Process AN INQUIRY OF SPACE ARCHITECTURE: DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS AND DESIGN PROCESS A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF NATURAL AND APPLIED SCIENCES OF MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY BY ECE YEĞEN IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARCHITECTURE IN ARCHITECTURE DECEMBER 2019 Approval of the thesis: AN INQUIRY OF SPACE ARCHITECTURE: DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS AND DESIGN PROCESS submitted by ECE YEĞEN in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Architecture in Architecture Department, Middle East Technical University by, Prof. Dr. Halil Kalıpçılar Dean, Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences Prof. Dr. F. Cana Bilsel Head of Department, Architecture Assoc. Prof. Dr. İpek Gürsel Dino Supervisor, Architecture, METU Examining Committee Members: Prof. Dr. Mualla Erkılıç Bayar Department of Architecture, METU Assoc. Prof. Dr. İpek Gürsel Dino Architecture, METU Prof. Dr. Adnan Barlas Department of City and Regional Planning, METU Assist. Prof. Dr. Annalisa Dominoni Department of Design, Politecnico di Milano Assist. Prof. Dr. Zeynep Çiğdem Uysal Ürey Department of Architecture, Çankaya University Date: 03.12.2019 I hereby declare that all information in this document has been obtained and presented in accordance with academic rules and ethical conduct. I also declare that, as required by these rules and conduct, I have fully cited and referenced all material and results that are not original to this work. Name, Surname: Ece Yeğen Signature: iv ABSTRACT AN INQUIRY OF SPACE ARCHITECTURE: DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS AND DESIGN PROCESS Yeğen, Ece Master of Architecture, Architecture Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. İpek Gürsel Dino December 2019, 147 pages Space architecture is a newly emerging field with the focus of designing human habitats for out of the boundaries of Earth. Due to the extremity of the environmental conditions in Space, the architectural product defines the whole accessible environment of the user. In addition, Space habitats are high-risk and high-cost projects, addressing rather unexplored issues. As a result, unquestioned preconceptions or assumptions are needed to be avoided. This situation requires comprehensive research on human – environment interaction. Furthermore, the complexity of the design problem necessitates contribution from various disciplinary fields, calling for interdisciplinary design approaches. It might be argued that hitherto realized designs of Space habitats are under the influence of excessive technical and cost constraints, and being formed by engineering-dominated design approaches. Whereas the inclusion of the architects to the spacecraft design had been to provide an environment to support human well-being, the research area of the field has been expanded since. This thesis is an inquiry of Space architecture through its design considerations and design process, hoping to find potential reflections both on architecture and on Space architecture, in means of design approaches and understanding of human – environment interaction. v Keywords: Extreme environments design, interdisciplinary design, space architecture, human factors and habitability. vi ÖZ UZAY MİMARLIĞI ÜZERİNE BİR ARAŞTIRMA: TASARIM KRİTERLERİ VE TASARIM SÜRECİ Yeğen, Ece Yüksek Lisans, Mimarlık Tez Danışmanı: Doç. Dr. İpek Gürsel Dino Aralık 2019, 147 sayfa Uzay mimarlığı, insanın uzay ortamında yaşayabileceği mekanların tasarımıyla ilgilenen ve yeni oluşmakta olan bir alandır. Uzayda mimari ürün, çevresel koşulların ekstremliği dolayısıyla kullanıcının ulaşılabilir bütün ortamını tanımlar. Uzay habitatları, yüksek riskli ve yüksek maliyetli projelerdir ve görece keşfedilmemiş konularla ilişkilidir. Bu nedenle, tasarımlarında sorgulanmamış ön kabullerden kaçınılması gerekir. Bu durum, insan – çevre etkileşimi üzerine kapsamlı araştırmalar gerektirir. Tasarım probleminin karmaşıklığı pek çok alanın katkısını zorunlu kılar. Bu katkının sağlanmasının interdisipliner tasarım yaklaşımlarına bağlı olduğu düşünülebilir. Şu ana kadar uygulanmış uzay habitatı tasarımlarının teknik ve maliyet nedenli kısıtlamalardan fazlaca etkilendiği ve mühendislik yaklaşımlarıyla çözüldüğü iddia edilebilir. Mimarın uzay aracı tasarımlarına dahil olması insanın çevresiyle ilişkisinin fiziksel ve ruhsal sağlığı için yeterli ölçüde sağlanabilmesi için olmuş; ancak alan ortaya çıkışından bu zamana araştırma alanları genişlemiştir. Bu tez, hem mimarlık hem uzay mimarlığı alanlarına potansiyel yansımaları arayışında, tasarım kriterleri ve tasarım süreçleri üzerinden bir uzay mimarlığı araştırmasıdır. vii Anahtar Kelimeler: Ekstrem çevre tasarımı, interdisipliner tasarım, uzay mimarlığı, insan faktörleri ve yaşanılabilirlik. viii to my brother ix ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I owe my deepest gratitude to my supervisor Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ipek Gursel Dino. Her encouragement from the very beginning made this work possible. I would like to thank her for her endless patience and support during the whole process. I consider myself extremely lucky to be guided by her knowledge and wisdom in my academic life. I would like to thank Prof. Dr. Mualla Erkılıç Bayar, Prof. Dr. Adnan Barlas, Assist. Prof. Dr. Annalisa Dominoni and Assist. Prof. Dr. Zeynep Çiğdem Uysal Ürey for reviewing the thesis and giving invaluable feedback with their most positive approaches. In addition to their insightful comments and suggestions, I would also like to thank Prof. Annalisa Dominoni and Prof. Benedetto Quaquaro for giving me the chance to participate in the course Space4Inspiraction in Politecnico di Milano, during which I have been provided with a better understanding of designing for Space. I would like to express my most sincere gratitude to Melodie Yashar for both accepting to contribute to this study, and for her following support. The thesis could not have come to this point without her contribution. I would like to thank NASA Centennial Challenges Program Manager Monsi Roman and engineer Lance LeBlanc for taking the time for our interviews, which have provided an invaluable contribution to the thesis. I would like to thank Daniele Trapetti and Ozan Şahin for their help from another country. I would also like to thank my friend Deniz Atasoy. A considerable amount of this study has been formed in an environment that has sometimes become a second home to me. I would like to thank all my friends from Speakeasy, starting with Carol Ergün. I would like to thank Prof. Dr. Hüseyin Çağatay Keskinok for his generous support by taking time for listening to my thoughts and studies, Adem Mülayim for his encouragements, and Fazıl Çelik for all the x discussions. I would also like to thank Dr. Duygu Türk for her friendship during the last phases, and Ulaş Sadi for his support. There are a few very special people who have been introduced to my life during my master’s education. Thanks to Baran Ekinci for teaching many things to me and enlarging my perspective of life; Öykü Acıcan for sharing my enthusiasm and reminding it to me when I needed; Seren Ertan, Elif Öztek, Meltem Köse and Şahin Akın for their contributions in various forms. I feel lucky to be surrounded with the love of my friends. I would like to thank Meltem Ünsal, Sinem Beyribey, and Figen Ünver as a part of my family. I am continuously grateful for all the adventures we share while growing up together. I would like to thank all my dear friends whose presence provides me comfort and joy. In particular, I would like to thank Çiğdem Ünsal, who confidently encouraged me; Tuğçe Çelik, who took long hours for the discussions about the study with a calming and always supporting approach; and Çiğdem Devrim, who always had belief in me from the beginning of this study. I would also like to thank my friends Ece Köksal and Kutay Veziroğlu, whose support I always feel regardless of the amount of time we can spend together. I would like to express my deepest gratitude for my family; my mother Belkıs Yeğen, my father Eşref İlhami Yeğen, and my brother Eren Berk Yeğen. They are the biggest contribution to making me who I am. It is not possible to thank them enough for their infinite love and support. In particular, I would like to thank them for never getting tired of my questions throughout my life and always encouraging me to ask more. xi TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................ v ÖZ ............................................................................................................................ vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ......................................................................................... x TABLE OF CONTENTS .......................................................................................... xii LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................... xiv LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................... xv CHAPTERS 1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................ 1 1.1. Premise .............................................................................................................. 1 1.2. Research Motivation ......................................................................................... 4 1.3. Research Questions ........................................................................................... 8 1.4. Research Methodology ....................................................................................
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