MODEL MAKING AS A VALUE-ADDED TOOL IN PUBLIC, EDUCATIONAL AND PROFESSIONAL DOMAINS A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF NATURAL AND APPLIED SCIENCES OF MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY BY HATEM AHMED ALI HADIA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN BUILDING SCIENCE IN ARCHITECTURE MAY 2015 APPROVAL OF THE THESIS MODEL MAKING AS A VALUE-ADDED TOOL IN PUBLIC, EDUCATIONAL AND PROFESSIONAL DOMAINS Submitted by HATEM HADIA in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Building Science in Architecture Department, Middle East Technical University by, Prof. Dr. Gülbin Dural Ünver ___________________ Dean, Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences Prof. Dr. Elvan Altan ___________________ Head of Department, Architecture Prof. Dr. Soofia Tahira Elias Ozkan ___________________ Supervisor, Architecture Dept., METU Examining Committee Members: Prof. Dr. Adnan Barlas ___________________ City Planning Dept., METU Prof. Dr. Soofia Tahira Elias Ozkan ___________________ Architecture Dept., METU Asst. Prof. Dr. Rafik Mavrakis ___________________ Architecture Dept., University of Benghazi, Libya Prof. Dr. Abdi Güzer ___________________ Architecture Dept., METU Assoc.Prof. Dr. Esra Fidanoğlu ___________________ Architecture Dept., Istanbul Kültür University Date: 22.05.2015 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, Last Name: HATEM AHMED ALI HADIA Signature: iv ABSTRACT MODEL MAKING AS A VALUE-ADDED TOOL IN PUBLIC, EDUCATIONAL AND PROFESSIONAL DOMAINS Hadia, Hatem Ahmed Ali Ph.D. in Building Science, Department of Architecture Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Soofia Tahira Elias-Ozkan May 2015, 353 pages Models are one of the oldest mediums used for creating, communicating and representing ideas throughout the ages, whether these ideas are based on dogmatic, intellectual, ideological, or architectural thought (belief). Whatever their purpose, models, embody a value that reflects their worth to their makers/owners; but this value is not easy to quantify as it may be based on implicit considerations that are difficult to define and measure. On the other hand, it is possible to add measurable value to human endeavors by the use of models. The purpose of this study is, therefore, to investigate the impacts and importance of models in the relevant domains, i.e. public, education, and professional; and to determine the value added to a project by model-making. Data in these three domains was gathered from interviews, questionnaire surveys, course performance grades, modeling skills’ evaluations, universities, local officials, and from an experimental studio course. In the public domain, the value added due to the impact of architectural models was measured by conducting a survey amongst the visitors to the Miniaturk Park in Istanbul. In the educational domain, the premise was that a design idea evolves as a 3-dimensional object in the designer’s mind, which is transferred to 2-dimensional sketches and drawings and then re-transferred into the final 3D object; hence, design should start with a 3D model of the project. This study, therefore, proposed a new methodological approach based on the use of v model-making as a design tool, to improve and strengthen the students’ performance and creativity. To this end an experimental design course was conducted in two international universities in the 3rd, 4th and 5th year studios. By observing and evaluating the students’ performance in these courses it became possible to define the impacts of physical models in the learning environment as a measurable value. The evaluation criteria too were defined to formulate a uniform and transparent assessment system for the students’ projects. In the professional domain, the study investigated the impacts of both modeling mediums (physical and digital modeling) on the design and production of buildings, through a survey of various architects. It was determined that model making can be used as a tool to add value to architectural projects and edifices. It was also seen that the value-added impact of architectural models in the public, educational and professional domains can be accurately measured. Keywords: Architectural design; Architectural education; Model-making, Physical models, Digital models; Impacts of models; Value-added. vi ÖZ KAMU, EĞİTİM VE MESLEKİ ALANLARDA MODEL YAPIMININ KATMA DEĞER ARACI OLARAK KULLANILMASI Hadia, Hatem Ahmed Ali Doktora, Yapı Bilimleri, Mimarlık Bölümü Tez Yöneticisi: Prof. Dr. Soofia Tahira Elias-Ozkan Mayıs 2015, 353 sayfa Modeller, Dogmatik, entellektüel, ideolojik veya mimari düşüceler (inançlar) içeren fikirleri oluşturan, ileten ve temsil eden en eski kurgular olmuşlardır.. Amaçları ne olursa olsun, modeller, yapımcıları/sahipleri için kendi değerlerini yansıtmaktadır. Ancak değerlerin, ölçülmesi ve tanımlanması, üstü kapalı tanımlamalara dayalı olabilmelerinden dolayı, bu değerlerin miktarlarını belirtmek kolay bir işlem değildir. Diğer yandan, insanların çabalarına ölçülebilir değerlerin eklenmesi modeller kullanarak olanaklı olabilmektedir. Böylece bu çalışmanın amacı modellerin ilgili (kamu, eğitim ve mesleki) alanlardaki etkilerini ve önemlerini araştırıken, model oluşturmanın bir proje için ekleyebileceği değeri belirlemek olmuştur. Bu üç alandaki veriler görüşmelerden, anket araştırmalarından, ders performans notlarından, modelleme becerilerinin değerlendirilmelerinden, üniversitelerden, yerel yetkililerden ve deneysel stüdyo dersinden toplanmıştır. Kamu alanında mimari modellerin etkileri ile eklenen değerler, İstanbul’da MiniaTurk Parkının ziyaretcilerine yapılan anket çalışması ile ölçülmüştür. Eğitim alanındaki öncül düşüncemiz ise tasarım fikri tasarımcının aklında 3 boyutlu nesnenin olarak geliştiğini ve sonradan bunun eskizler ve çizimler haline döndüğü ve en son 3 boyutlu nesnenin oluştuğudur. Sonuç olarak bir tasarımın, projenin 3 boyutlu modeli olarak başlaması gerekmektedir. Bu çalışma böylece öğrencilerin performans ve vii yaratıcıklarını geliştirebilmek için, model yapımının tasarım aracı olarak kullanılmasını ve bunun yeni bir yöntemsel yaklaşım olmasını önermektedir. Bu amaçla deneysel tasarım dersi iki uluslar arası üniversitede öğrenim yılının üçüncü, dördüncü ve beşinci sınıflarında yapılmıştır. Bu derslerdeki öğrencilerin performanslarını değerlendirerek, fiziksel modellerin eğitim ve öğretim süresinde kullanılmasının etkileri, ölçülebilir bir değer olarak tanımlanabilmiştir. Değerlendirme ölçütleri de öğrencilerin projelerini değerlendiren bütünleşik ve belirgin sistem oluşturmak için tanımlanmıştır. Profesyonel alanda, çalışmamız her iki modelleme ortamının (fiziksel ve dijital modelleme) binaların tasarımı ve üretimi üzerindeki etkilerini araştırmıştır. Bu araştırma bir dizi mimarla yapılan söyleşilerle gerçekleşmiştir. Model yapımının mimari projelere ve yapılara değer kazandıran bir araç olarak kullanılabildiği sonucu ortaya çıkarken verilmiştir, mimari modellerin toplumsal, bilimsel ve profesyonel alanlarda katma değer etkileri doğru olarak ölçülebilmektedir. Anahtar Kelimeler: Mimari tasarım; Mimarlık eğitimi; Model yapımı, Fiziksel modeller, Dijital modeller; Modellerin etkileri; Katma değer. viii To the memory of my late Mother and Father ix x ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis would not have been possible without the efforts of a large number of people. Foremost among them my supervisor: Prof. Dr. Soofia Tahira Elias-Ozkan for her continuous guidance and support every day of my graduate studies, for her patience, confidence in me and providing me with an excellent atmosphere for doing research. Beside my supervisor, I extend my sincere thanks and appreciation also to Asst. Prof. Dr. Rafik Mavrakis for providing me the appropriate environment at the Architecture Department/the University of Benghazi to facilitate the conduction of the research experimental studio course. I owe a deep sense of gratitude to Prof. Dr. Adnan Barlas for his dedication and timely advice; meticulous scrutiny, scholarly advice and scientific approach have helped me to a very great extent to accomplish this task. Special thanks go to Prof. Dr. Abdi Güzer and Assoc.Prof. Dr. Esra Fidanoğlu who were willing to participate in my final defense committee despite their busy time. Their participation, feedback and positive support undoubtedly was behind the success and completion of this study. I thank profusely all the staffs of Middle East Technical University for their help and patience. Their support, kindness and friendship thoroughly appreciated. Also I will never forget the effort provided by the staffs at the University of Benghazi and Elmergib University for obtaining the samples of the study. I would like to express my deep appreciation to the Head of Architecture department at Benghazi University and Elmergib University, Dr. Mohammed Hawiwo and Dr. Salem Sharif to provide me the appropriate environment for conducting the experimental studio course of this study. The completion of this experimental studio work would have been impossible to succeed without the great effort of many friends among them Inst. Hazem Bunzila, Inst. Eman Elmazek who dedicated their day and xi night supervising the AC311 design studio group. My deep appreciation goes also to the instructors at Elmergib