AN INQUIRY ON ABSOLUTE ARCHITECTURE: THE CASE STUDY OF ARTER IN İSTANBUL A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF NATURAL AND APPLIED SCIENCES OF MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY BY UMUT BORA ŞAHİN IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARCHITECTURE IN ARCHITECTURE JULY 2021 Approval of the thesis: AN INQUIRY ON ABSOLUTE ARCHITECTURE: THE CASE STUDY OF ARTER IN İSTANBUL submitted by UMUT BORA ŞAHİN in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Architecture in Architecture, Middle East Technical University by, Prof. Dr. Halil Kalıpçılar Dean, Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences Prof. Dr. Fatma Cânâ Bilsel Head of the Department, Architecture Assist. Prof. Dr. Esin Kömez Dağlıoğlu Supervisor, Architecture, METU Examining Committee Members: Assist. Prof. Dr. Pelin Yoncacı Arslan Architecture, METU Assist. Prof. Dr. Esin Kömez Dağlıoğlu Architecture, METU Assist. Prof. Dr. Başak Uçar Architecture, TED University Date: 05.07.2021 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 : Umut Bora Şahin Signature : iv ABSTRACT AN INQUIRY ON ABSOLUTE ARCHITECTURE: THE CASE STUDY OF ARTER IN İSTANBUL Şahin, Umut Bora Master of Architecture, Architecture Supervisor : Assist. Prof. Dr. Esin Kömez Dağlıoğlu July 2021, 150 pages The notion of form has always had a prominent role in the discipline of architecture both for the theoretical discussions and the practice of building. Reconfiguring the physical conditions of architecture, the idea of form can enable possibilities for creating a relationship between the object of architecture and the city. This research unfolds the theories on architectural form and offers an analysis of the Arter building in İstanbul in the light of these theories. The “revolutionary” architecture around the 18th and 19th centuries by Étienne-Louis Boullée and Claude-Nicolas Ledoux, the autonomous architecture in the 20th century by Peter Eisenman and Michael Hays, the architectural pragmatism that has emerged with the millennium by Robert Somol and Sarah Whiting, and the absolute architecture of Pier Vittorio Aureli illustrate some of these different theories that centralize the discussion of form in architectural production. This thesis argues that Aureli’s theory of absolute architecture builds a coherent relationship between the intrinsic forces of architecture and its wider urban context. The aim of the thesis is to discuss the potentials of architectural form to offer political, physical, and social engagement with the city. Keywords: Absolute Architecture, Form, Project, Autonomy, Pragmatism. v ÖZ BİR MUTLAK MİMARLIK SORGUSU: İSTANBUL’DA ARTER ÖRNEĞİ Şahin, Umut Bora Yüksek Lisans, Mimarlık Tez Yöneticisi: Doç. Dr. Esin Kömez Dağlıoğlu Temmuz 2021, 150 sayfa From kavramının mimarlık disiplini içerisinde hem teorik tartışmalar için hem de mimarlığın pratiği için her zaman öne çıkan bir rolü olmuştur. Mimarinin fiziksel koşullarını belirleyen form, aynı zamanda kent ile mimarlık arasında ilişkiler oluşturmanın da önünü açabilmektedir. Bu çalışma mimari form odaklı teorileri ortaya çıkarmakta ve İstanbul’daki Arter yapısının bu bağlamda analizini sunmaktadır. 18. ve 19. yüzyıllarda Étienne-Louis Boullée ve Claude-Nicolas Ledoux’nun “devrimci” mimarlık tanımı, 20. yüzyılda Peter Eisenman ve Michael Hays’in özerk mimarlık kavramı, milenyum ile birlikte Robert Somol ve Sarah Whiting’in sunduğu faydacı mimarlık anlayışı, ve Pier Vittorio Aureli’nin mutlak mimarlık fikri formu mimarlık tartışmasının odağına yerleştiren teorileri örneklemektedir. Bu çalışma Aureli’nin mutlak mimarlık tartışmasını mimarinin içsel dinamikleriyle onun daha geniş çerçevesi olan kentsel bağlam arasında bağ oluşturan bir teori olarak ele almaktadır. Bu çalışmanın amacı mimari formun kent ile politik, fiziksel ve sosyal bir bağlılık oluşturma potansiyellerini tartışmaktır. Anahtar Kelimeler: Mutlak Mimarlık, Form, Proje, Özerklik, Faydacılık. vi To Doğa. vii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First, I would like to express my special thanks to my supervisor Assist. Prof. Dr. Esin Kömez Dağlıoğlu who always encouraged me to do my very best. It is her generous criticism and valuable comments that lead me to complete my thesis. Additionally, I would also like to thank the members of the examining committee: Assist. Prof. Dr. Pelin Yoncacı Arslan and Assist. Prof. Dr. Başak Uçar for their inspiring opinions and extensive discussions. I am also grateful for my friends Deniz Akyürek, Eflatun Yılmaz, İlayda Güler, Gülsen Namıduru, and others whose companionship supported me with empathy and motivation throughout the process. Lastly, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my family, my mother, my father, and my sister. I feel very lucky to have such a great family who support me in every step I make. viii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................... v ÖZ ............................................................................................................................ vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ..................................................................................... viii TABLE OF CONTENTS ......................................................................................... ix LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................... x CHAPTERS 1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................. 1 1.1 Aim and Structure of the Thesis ................................................................. 6 2 A BRIEF HISTORIOGRAPHY OF FORM IN ARCHITECTURE ............... 13 2.1 Towards the Discipline ............................................................................. 18 2.2 Towards Formal Autonomy ..................................................................... 35 2.3 Towards Pragmatism ................................................................................ 46 3 TOWARDS AN ABSOLUTE ARCHITECTURE .......................................... 57 3.1 Architecture as a Project .......................................................................... 68 3.2 Architecture as a Finite Form ................................................................... 78 3.3 Architecture as a Part of the City ............................................................. 86 4 CASE STUDY: ARTER .................................................................................. 97 4.1 The Form ................................................................................................ 104 4.2 The Limit ................................................................................................ 113 4.3 The Frame .............................................................................................. 123 5 CONCLUSION .............................................................................................. 137 REFERENCES ...................................................................................................... 145 ix LIST OF FIGURES FIGURES Figure 1 - Étienne-Louis Boullée, Metropolitan Church. ........................................ 24 Figure 2 - Étienne-Louis Boullée, Newton Cenotaph. ............................................ 26 Figure 3 - Claude-Nicolas Ledoux, the design for the Theatre of Besançon depicting "the eye" as a central feature of its form. ................................................. 29 Figure 4 - Claude-Nicolas Ledoux, A section from the series of drawings illustrating a variety of his barriers. ........................................................................ 31 Figure 5 - Claude-Nicolas Ledoux, The plan of the Ideal City and the Church of Chaux at the center. ................................................................................................. 33 Figure 6 - Le Corbusier, The design for Maison Dom-ino ...................................... 40 Figure 7 - Peter Eisenman, Reconfigurations of Maison Dom-ino ......................... 42 Figure 8 - Robert Somol & Sarah Whiting, 3D model of the IntraCenter .............. 49 Figure 9 - Superstudio, Continuous Monument ...................................................... 58 Figure 10 - Archizoom, No Stop City ..................................................................... 61 Figure 11 - Ildefons Cerdà, The Plan for Barcelona ............................................... 67 Figure 12 - Andrea Palladio, plans and elevations for Rialto Bridge ...................... 70 Figure 13 - Canaletto, or a Palladian design for Rialto Bridge ............................... 72 Figure 14 - Giovanni Battista Piranesi, Scenographia Campi Martii ...................... 73 Figure 15 - Giovanni Battista Piranesi, Ichnographia Campi Martii ....................... 75 Figure 16 - Giambattista Nolli, Nouva pianta di Roma ........................................... 77 Figure 17 - Etienne-Louis Boullée, perspective from the National Library ............ 83 Figure 18 - Etienne-Louis Boullée, section of the Coliseum project ...................... 85 Figure 19 - Oswald Mathias Ungers, Berlin as a Green Archipelago ..................... 87 Figure 20 - Rem Koolhaas & Elia Zenghelis, Exodus, or the Voluntary Prisoners of