Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Spatial Analysis - I Design Thinking in Spatial Dimensions, Arzu Erçetin,Gamze Akbaş,Yasemin Tuzlu Erol, Editör, Kriter Yayınevi, İstanbul, ss.169-196, 2025
The most important
living space for people is housing. The housing concept has undergone many
changes from the past to the present. In periods of crowded family life,
housing designs were built in a larger structure for this need. However, with
the metropolitan lifestyle brought by the changing period conditions and the
increase in vertical architecture in the houses, designs have started to be
made by reducing the square meter area of the houses. The balcony area is the
most affected architectural element in reducing the square meters of
residential buildings. Balconies, which are semi-public-private spaces, are an
important building element in the architectural shaping of houses (Çetin &
Cimcöz, 2003). However, these areas are closed in some houses for different
reasons and material systems. With the start of the pandemic, people started to
question the positive/negative aspects of housing. In December 2019, the WHO
(World Health Organization) decided to start the pandemic process on March 11,
2020, when the virus, which converted into an outbreak in Wuhan, China, crossed the
borders of the country and spread all
around the world, due to factors such as the danger of transmission to humans
and the easy spread of the disease. Quarantine is a measure typically applied
during epidemics, and it indirectly influences architectural developments
related to prevalent diseases throughout history. Due to the rapid and
contagious effect of the pandemic, people preferred to stay at home as the
safest place to avoid the virus. Being at home during the pandemic has caused
us to question the relationship between daily life and home. During the time
spent at home, users preferred to explore and recreate environments to make
them feel good. The most important of the reconsidered spaces was the balcony
element, an architectural space where people can breathe, communicate with the
sky and socialize. The connection of the balcony element with the outside
creates an intermediate space where people can come into contact with nature in
residential life. The relationship with nature is established by approaching
the balcony design as an intermediate space function with the concept of
biophilia.
From the past to the
present, humans have communicated with other life forms in nature through
hunting and gathering, therefore imitating nature. In the earliest paleohominid
period, people's lifestyles depended on learning about nature consciousness and
using it in their living spaces (Wilson, 1986). Later, with the development of
industry, the increasing consumption rate led to a decrease in the relationship
with nature. The increase in the modern built environment and people keeping up
with the technological age is causing them to return to their inner world and
move away from nature. This situation brings along an increase in depression
cases. Including these problems in our lives has increased the need to create a
healing environment in architectural designs. In the design of healing
environments, it is essential that the 'Biophilic Design' approach is based on
combining nature, human, and architecture. Wilson emphasises that human
interest and love for the elements of nature date back to the early stages of
evolution (Wilson, 1986). Biophilia is expected to indirectly connect with
nature through daylight, natural ventilation, plants, biological forms, and
natural materials to combine spaces with nature in the built environment. In
this context, the rationale put forward by the concept of biophilic design is
important.
Biophilic design is a
motivating approach to establishing a positive relationship with nature,
improving people's moods, and motivating them to be conscious of nature. The
starting point of this chapter is the question of how the balcony area
contributes to "human health and psychology" with the impact of the
pandemic. This research aims to examine how the human-nature relationship is
reflected in balcony design within the scope of a design strategy and the
framework of the biophilia design approach, questioning the contribution of the
biophilia design concept to the sensory experience and functional performance
of the balcony. The problem of the study was defined by the question of how the
use and design of the balcony space can contribute to human physical and mental
health. Then, with the global impact of the pandemic, the increased importance
of balconies, which are semi-open spaces in residences, has led to research on
the concept of biophilic design, aiming to connect people with nature. As a
result of the literature review, the concepts were detailed and related to the
subject by content analysis, a qualitative data collection technique. After the
pandemic, biophilic design was included in the physical attitudes and changing
functionality of the balconies after the pandemic, and a biophilic balcony
design proposal was developed.