investigations on space and design

INVESTIGATIONS ON SPACE + DESIGN WORKİpek Kaynar Rohloff, PhD

Analysis of form + space

Architectural design & drawing

Exhibit design

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[email protected]

Urban Form and Revitalization Efforts:Morphology analysis of Holyoke MA in comparison to renewal

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Urban Baseline Analysis of Boston & CambridgeDestination and Route-choice Potentials in the City

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A n a l y s i s o f F o r m & S p a c e

Museum Design, Exhibition Narratives and Spatial BehaviorAn Inquiry on the Architecture of the YCBA, MoMA and HMA

Urban Baseline and Design Appraisal forMiami Beach Convention Center Redevelopment Master PlanConsulting Business Development

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4 Research Samples | Ipek K. Rohloff

Urban Form & Revitalization EffortsMorphology analysis of Holyoke, MA in comparison to renewal

Case: Holyoke, A Declined Mill Town

Peer-reviewed conference paper: Rohloff, I. K. 2013 “Urban Morphologies of Mill Towns and Positive Transformation. Analyzing Regen-erative Capacity of the Morphology of Holyoke.” In Proceedings of Ninth International Space Syntax Symposium, Y. Ook Kim, H. Tae Park, K. Wook Seo, Seoul: Sejong University Press.

This analysis presents an assessment of urban renewal proposed for the city of Holyoke based on the analysis of its downtown urban morphology. Holy-oke is a declined historic mill town in Western Massachusetts, and the down-town urban form is characterized by street grid interlaced with power canals and delineated by the river. Other elements that characterize the urban form are mill buildings in large parcels and row-house enclaves, single family houses in smaller parcels, and a few town parks.

The analysis explores opportunities and re-strictions presented by the urban morphology for economic regenera-tion and vibrancy. This analysis compares the existing urban form properties with the changes proposed in the renewal project. Based on the findings of this comparison, it makes the assessment of the urban renewal project for its capacity to supports the economic regeneration and revi-talization goals that are formulated by the city.

Urban form of down-town Holyoke is ana-lyzed here in terms of urban block and street network properties. Ur-ban block properties include the variability in the size and shape of the blocks and the den-sity of parcels in each block. For a declined mill town like Holyoke, size of the urban blocks in downtown may in-dicate how frequently pedestrian paths will intersect. Larger size blocks create obstacles for connectivity and disrupt the continuity of general movement.

Mount Holyoke College2013-2014

Role: Researcher

[email protected]

Urban Form with Block Properties

A Urban block analysis generated with space syntax tools. Smallest blocks are in red.

B Building blocks, parcel sizes and footprint of buildings in the center city.

Parcel density in blocks, “tissue,” has implica-tions of how dramati-cally the change will take place as new struc-tures are implemented. A fine grained “tissue” with small parcels and multiple owners in the urban blocks create challenges for adapt-ability as each building will change individually and at different times, while the overall struc-ture and character of the place remain the same because a small parcel framework dictates cer-tain types of buildings.

The block size analysis shows that the sections along the river indicate more dramatic trans-formation possibility. Currently, these blocks are seldom accessible due to large mill build-ings, which are in fact mostly unusable for ret-rofitting new uses and likely be knocked down for new development. Other sections that of-fer possibility of dramat-ic transformation are along the central canals.

Street network proper-ties are analyzed with space syntax technique, which examines the potential of each street segment to be a desti-nation or a chosen path for transportation due to segments relationship with the entire network.


Analysis of the Urban Form through Street Network and Its Capacities

D Integration graph (r:800m) capturing likely destinations for 10 min. walk.

E Rehabilitation areas and smart growth district within the urban block

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Segments that are reachable with a few-est number of turn with a minimum sum angle potentially attract peo-ple’s movement, and likely destinations for economic and social activity. Segments that lie in the routes that of-fer least number of turns with a minimum sum angle are likely paths chosen by people, in other words, thorough-fares for transportation.

When analysis is run at the smaller radius it presents destinations that most likely attract walking people and paths that are most walked by people. Anal-ysis at 800m radius, suggests that a sec-tion of the historic High Street is most likely destination. Indeed, this section is where small street shops and restaurants are locat-ed despite the declin-ing economic activity.

The city of Holyoke proposes new street arrangement and ca-nal walk develop-ments for urban re-newal of Holyoke.1) Improve connectivity of streets perpendicular to the canals, (2) De-velop four new urban nodes with distinct iden-tity using the nearby landmarks (G). (3) De-velop core land between the canals as Arts and Innovation district and implement “canal walk”.

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[email protected]

Street Network of Holyoke with Proposed Changes for Urban Renewal

E Integration graph (r:800m) of improved movement, with canal walk,

C Street segment analysis with choice measure in 800m radius,capturing most likely places people will walk.

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To provide an assess-ment, I then analyzed the street network with-in the proposed chang-es. The street segment analysis indicates that the proposed changes expands the capacity to be a destination for economic and social activity to Dwight and Cabot streets crossing the High Streets and the canals on the core. This creates greater possibil-ity for social encounters and commerce in the proposed Arts and In-novation district, how-ever canal walk does not seem to be the most vibrant part of the downtown due to lim-ited accessibility to this area that persist with existing mill buildings.

The analysis of poten-tial chosen paths shows that the west side of the core canal area, includ-ing the High Street and those crossing it, are the most walkable areas. The walkability extends towards the east side of the central canals, through Dwight and Cabot Streets. These areas create potential locations for passing trade, such as small convenience stores. Northwest segments of the High Street and a few parallel streets are most likely walked. The analysis indicates that the northwestern side of the central canals can be appropriate for smart growth development.

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Urban Baseline and Design AppraisalMiami Beach Convention Center Redevelopment Master Plan

Consulting/business Development

Space Syntax Ltd.2013

Role: RepresentativeThis project RFP came up during my role as a rep-resentative of Space Syntax Ltd. (London, UK) con-sulting group. I connected Space Syntax with Port-man Associates developer group which responded the project call with a strong design team includ-ing BIG, West 8. My primary role was to guide Portman Associates how space syntax concepts and tools could help respond to the project objec-tives detailed by the MiamiBeach town in regards to redevelopment of the Convention Center area.

A particular problem of the project that our client wanted to address was to show how design can attract pedestrian behavior to the Convention Cen-ter surroundings while restricting the car traffic.

Our engagement with Portman Associates start-ed after first master plan proposals were shaped, space syntax modeling remained at the level of ap-praisal of the master plan and conceptual design schemes, shaped with Bjarke Ingels and West 8 on the team. My guidance helped the Space Syntax team in London to prioritize the analysis tasks to pro-vide graphic and quantitative evidence of the ways in which design scheme developed by the team of Portman Associates addresses the project needs.

[email protected]


Urban Baseline Analysis of Boston & Cambridge: Destination and Route-Choice Potentials in the City

Consulting/business Development

A Street segment modeling of Boston and Cambridge with Integration at r=10000m

B Street segment analysis of Boston and Cambridge with Integration at r=1600m

Space Syntax Ltd.2011

Role: Analyst

The segments accessible from all others within the least angular turn can be a potential destination (to-movement) place due to the economy in the in-volved journey. Destina-tions that attract people’s movement provide op-portunities for social en-counters and spontane-ous interactions, therefore the destination segments are also suitable places for commercial activ-ity. Integration at par-ticular radius picks up the degree to which each segment can be a des-tination (to-movement) at that radius of reach.

In Figure A, the integration graph of Boston and Cam-bridge at 10 000m radius (A) shows where people likely move to. The graph indicates that Back Bay (Storrow Dr. and parallel streets) in Boston, and the Central Sq. and Pros-pect St. in Cambridge and the arteries connecting those areas are potential destinations. This covers where people might go most likely with in short car trips. In Figure B, the inte-gration graph at 1600m radius depicts potential areas of destination for pedestrian at 20-minute walk. The graph indicates a limited area in Back Bay in Boston and the Prospect Street in Cambridge can be the most common des-tinations within 20 minute walk (or short trips by car).

Destinations

[email protected]

C Street segment analysis of Boston and Cambridge with Choice at r=10000m

D Street segment analysis of Boston and Cambridge with Choice at r=800m

The street segment model was completed within the team effort in the UCL Space Syntax Ltd. (Lon-don, UK) as a consulting work of the firm for “Greening America’s Capitals: Boston City Hall Plaza.” The analysis aims to explore the capacities street network creates for commercial land-use and trans-portation behavior. These capacities are investigated at the scale of vehicular movement (A, C) and pedestrian movement (B, D).

Route-Choice

Route-choice patterns, probable segments to where people move-through is captured by choice measure. This measure deals with the degree to which each segment lies on least angle routes between all other pairs of segments within the radius Choice measure graphs at large radii is effective to pick up thoroughfares for ve-hicular movement, so it provides input for trans-portation planning. Local choice measure (graphs at smaller radii) shows paths on the shortest trips for pedestrians, it depicts the most walkable areas.

In Figure C, the choice graph of Boston-Cam-bridge at 10 000m radius marks the arteries that are most likely routes for ve-hicular movement. Unsur-prisingly, the graph shows Beacon St., Mass. Ave, River St, and Main St. are the routes for vehicu-lar movement as these streets are part of short-est and most direct trips to destinations . In Figure D, on the other hand, the choice graph at 800m radi-us indicates the segments that are most likely on the shortest trips to destina-tions within 10min. walks. These segments seem to be part of most walkable routes in downtown Bos-ton, Cambridgeport, Har-vard Square, and Charles-town neighborhoods.


Museum Design, Visitor Behavior & Exhibitions An Inquiry on The Architecture of YCBA, the MoMA and the HMA

Yale Center for British Art, (4th Floor), New Haven, CT

Museum of Modern Art, (4th Floor), New York, NY

High Museum of Art, (Skyway floor), Atlanta, GA

How does architecture of museums shape intellectual and spatial character of museum visit? The design properties of three museums below engender visual relations through atria space and gal-lery partition configiuation. The analysis looks at the ways in which those visual relations shape exhibi-tion narratives and visitor spatial behavior.

The YCBA (1977), designed by L. Kahn, has two atria and partittion configuration that visually and physically link galleries in orthogonal and diagonal directions. These links facilitate visual comparisions of the works of art while create opportunities to relax vision through gazing the art in distance.

The new MoMA (2006) building, designed by Y. Toniguchi, has a large a atrium space, the gallery rooms are connected through axially placed gateways. Gallery rooms are contained and expose works of art in adjacent galleries only, which allow close comparisons between the styles derived from the same trajectory.

The HMA (1984, 2006) provides museum space in two wings, one is the original wing (1984) designed by R. Meier, the other is the new wing (2006) designed by R. Piano. The original wing is characterized by a room-with-in-a-room organization around an-off center atrium, while the new wing presents matrix of large rooms.

University of Michigan.2014-2008

Role:PhD Researcher

[email protected]

Exhibition strategies and Narratives within the Space

The unique design properties of each museum are used by curators to present thematic display groups in focused and cross-comparative manners. In each museums architecure contributes to the exhibition narratives at various degrees. While architecture at the YCBA is an integral part of aesthetic presenta-tion at the MoMA, the building works as a neutral medium to facilitate visitors focused viewing. The de-sign properties of the original HMA building (designed by R. Meier) are utilized to stage different works of art from the same period, whereas the new the original building designed by R. Piano provides room

Gallery rooms are suitable for dense arrays of works to represent certain periods.

Staggered position of partitions present works of art in visual juxtapositions.

Framing through atrium openings.

The works of art are placed on visual axes determined by the position of gateways. Viewing the works through gateways provide visual juxtapositions between the works in adjacent rooms.

Multiple openings in the attria allow diagonal views.

The works of different media repre-senting same period and style are staged using the visual affinities.

The contemporary works of art are placed in free organizaiton on the gallery hall, while they are grouped based on style in gallery room in the new wing.

Aesthetic presentation of 16th to 19th Century British Painting

Tracing the Complex Story of the Late Modern Art

Hybrid Narratives Through Visual Affinities among The Works of Modern and Self-Taugh Art


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Yale Center for British Art (YCBA), New Haven, CT

1-A Placement of exhibition groups and layout of themes.

1-B Degree to which convex spaces are permeated by crossing fewest others (spatial integration).

1-C Degree to which convex spaces are direclty con-nected to neighboring spaces.

1-E Degree to which one can see neighboring spaces (visual connectivity).

1-D Degree to which one can see entire layout within fewest number of turns (visual integration).

ANALYSIS 1

Analysis steps included examin-ing how display groups are placed in the galleries and in relation to each other. Display groups are also examined to understand the order in which they can be read in the layout. Spatial analysis (1-B to 1-E) presents the degrees to which gallery rooms are physi-cally and visually accessible from every other room and directly reached from adjacent rooms.

My analysis indicates: (1) The de-sign expresses the structured con-tent by highlighting emergence of the British genre through key politi-cal developments; (2) The design creates a sensory experience with the works of art in aesthetically ap-pealing combinations, utilizing the atria openings to create opportuni-ties to view the pieces at a glance and in visual juxtaposition to others.

[email protected]

1-H Data of visually scanning the layuot (visitors’ pauses for scanning).

1-G Data of exhibit viewing (visitors’ pauses).

1-F Data of visitors movement.

ANALYSIS 2

The analysis invesigates to what extent the observed spatial behavior of visitors are linked with design lay-out properties. Visitors’ spatial behavior patterns are obtained by recording visitors’ movement paths, ex-hibit viewing and visually scanning behavior, through detailed observation studies. is compared with spa-tial relation measures using statistical correlations.

Design properties of the museum is examined in the permeability and visibility graphs. Visibil-ity grapsh (D, E) shows the spaces that can be cap-tured within fewest number of visual steps (vi-sual integration) and the spaces that are directly visible from adjacent locations (visual connnectivity).

For this analysis counts of visitors’ movement path, stops at exhibits and stops to scan the surround-ings in each gallery are correlated with visual inre-gration and visual connectivity values obtained from the graphs. This correlation study was to understand to what extend visibilty capacity of galleries influ-ence visitors exploration and exhibit viewing behavior.

My analysis indicates that in the YCBA visitors are well guided by global level spatial informa-tion, prominently revealed through visibility rela-tions in the layout. The global level spatial informa-tion in fact guides both visitors’ movement patterns and exhibit viewing, although there is notable attrac-tion to the works of art independently of the layout.

The Museum Visit in the YCBA

Design properties of the YCBA generously reveal information in various directions, encourage ex-ploratory viewing of exhibitions and within a syner-gy between the experience of art and architecture.

The design sharpens the curatorial message with a highly structured organization, and at the same time it relaxes the structured organization by creating chances to clanse at the art in visual comparisons. This allows visitors read highly structured exhibition in a relaxed manner and by experiencing architecture.

Spatial exploration synergized with exhibit viewing


The (New) Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY



2-C Degree to which convex spaces are direclty con-nected to neighboring spaces (spatial connectivity).


2-D Degree to which the entire neighborhood can be seen within fewest number of turns (visual integration)

This analysis explores the ways in which architectural de-sign of the new MoMA (2005) takes curatorial agenda of the institution to the next level.

The fourth floor layout is char-acterrized by rectilinear galleries connected to each other in multi-ple directions and a semi-direct-ed gallery sequence with only few choice points. Each of the rectilinear shape galleries (chap-ter room) is devoted to a single art movement, or the style and works of an individual artist, while subdivisions within each room corresponded to subtle differen-tiations within the same move-ment or style. Physical and vi-sual connections between these chapter rooms express opposi-tions, reactions, derivations and other complexities in the emer-gence of the art movements.

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2-F Data of visitor movement.


2-H Data of visually scanning the layuot (visitors’ pauses).

Movement Guided by Gradually Unfolding Information & Focused Exhibit Viewing

The fourth floor presents narratives as aimed by the curatorial team. the MoMA’s fourth floor exhibition can therefore be considered quite didactic, utilizing the space to express scholarly interpretations of the collection within its complexity. Visibility relationships place greater emphasis on the increasingly individual-ized styles of late Modern art after the 1960s and al-low the visitor to appreciate also experiential qualities of the masterpieces, and underscore the complexity.

The second part of the analysis correlates the spatial layout properties with the space use patterns of visitors.The result suggest that spatial structure of the entire layout (global level visual and pyhsical relations) in the MoMA’s fourth floor layout does not predict movement. Instead, movement seems to relate to local spatial re-lations, and exhibit viewing takes place most often in spaces separated from the most accessible and visually integrated portions of the layout. Visitors are most likely to move through spaces that are accessible and vis-ible from their immediate neighborhood; however visi-tors’ frequently stop and view exhibits in spaces that are visually isolated from the rest of the layout. Therefore, visitors engage in movement and exhibition viewing at separate times and locations throughout the layout.

The MoMA’s layout offers a museum visit experience dissociating spatial exploration patterns from those of exhibit viewing. MoMA’s design intensifies visi-tors’ interaction with exhibits while supporting move-ment as a separate aspect of the museum visit.


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The High Museum of Art (HMA), Atlanta, GA



3-C Degree to which convex spaces are direclty con-nected to neighboring spaces (spatial connectivity).


3-D Degree to which the entire neighborhood can be seen within fewest number of turns (visual integration)

The High Museum of Art’s col-lection includes works of art representing three genres from twentieth century North Ameri-ca: Modern, Contemporary and self-taught art. With the dis-plays of selected pieces from these three genres, the exhibi-tion in HMA skywalk galleries is arranged to explore possible dialogues among the Modern, Contemporary and self-taught art. To this end, the museum’s display strategies utilized the galleries’ geometry and spatial features as well as the strengths and diversity ofthe collection.

Visibility analysis showed that the composite spatial and for-mal structure of the layout en-gendered varied levels of vis-ibility and thus placed different emphasis on the displays. The works of American Modern art displayed on one side of the Stent wing were more likely to be visited separately from all the

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3-F Data of visitor movement.


3-H Data of visually scanning the layuot (visitors’ pauses).

other displays due to the visually isolated location of the galleries. The works of self-taught art in the other side of the Stent wing were similarly affected due to their inconvenient location as well as the vi-sually isolated position of the galleries. The works representing pre-Contemporary art periods in the Wieland wing were also in a relatively detached lo-cation. These properties of the layout prevented a seamless narrative flow and instead presented the narrative within distinct chapters.

Comparing visitors’ movement with visibility levels in the gallery spaces suggests that visitors were usually attracted to areas with enhanced visibility at both global and local levels. This finding confirms that exploratory movement mostly appears along the longitudinal core of the layout (which had en-hanced visibility), offering access to the entire lay-out as well as surrounding galleries [figs. 22, 23]. On the other hand, visitors seemed less likely to stop and view the exhibit along this longitudinal core space. Instead, they were more likely to stop and look around at the points where continued movement required decision making, that is, where visual information about permeable spaces in vari-ous directions was available. This shows that along the longitudinal core space, where Contemporary works were placed, visitors’ rarely paid attention to the displays.

As for display viewing behavior, visitors’ stops wereconcentrated in visually isolated parts of the layout where displays could be viewed without the distrac-tion of other galleries. The visually isolated parts in the layout were the galleries displaying Modern and self-taught art at the separate corners of the Stent wing, and Contemporary art at the Wieland wing. This analysis showed that while these areas ranked low in exploratory movement, visitors who passed through nevertheless seemed to stop to view individual works of art quite frequently. This suggests that visitors were more inclined to focus their viewing when visiting visually isolated parts of the layout. Exhibits in the visually isolated parts of the layout (including the works of Modern art and self-taught art as well as a few works of Contem-porary art) were viewed without much comparisonwith the art in the rest of the layout.

Divergence of Attention between Exhibits and Space by Choice

Training and Recreation Complex for Turkish Central Bank, Ankara, Turkey

Avsallar Shopping Center: "Carsi La"

Caretakers' Facility in the Nichols Arboretum

"Leisure Park" in the Old Gas Factory Site with A Museum of Nature

City Museum of Ankara: Narratives of The Capital City

Architectural Design + Drawing

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Training and Recreation Complex for Turkish Central Bank

Ankara, Turkey

The project was a large training and recreation complex for the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey. The complex was designed to offer hospi-tality, recreation, training and athletic amenities for the employees of the bank. The different programmatic ele-ments were incorporated in a 40,000 m2 mixed use building with strucu-tral sections and a seperate build-ing block. The construction technique of the entire facility was reinforced concrete skeleton, with lightweight steel and glass components such as interior staircase and atria spaces.

Prokon Engineering-Consulting Ltd. & METU Department of Architeture

1999-2000Role: Architect

[email protected]

The composite nature of the construction sys-tem created some complexity in construction de-tails. The problens and revisions were han-dled in coordination with project consutlants.

The project was designed and managed by two ar-chitects who were professors at at the Middle East Technical University. I was one of the junior architects who was in charge of translating design decisions to construction and detail drawings in complienca with building codes. in the architectural office run by My re-sponsibilities in the project office included drawing the construction documents and revising the design docu-ments based on the changes in construction details. I also implemented material specifications and building code compliance within the construction documents.


For this project, I completed system sections through atrium spaces, staircases and glazing walls constructed by steel and glass. I coordinated construction design decisions between construction consultants and archi-tects. This task taught me the ways in which progres-sive construction techniques can improve the architec-tural design. Progressive techniques can be developed and applied to keep building components lightweight, and thus to achieve greater visibility and flow in space.

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Avsallar Shopping Center: "Carsi La" Antalya, Turkey

This was a mid-size (3000 m2) shop-ping center in Antalya Turkey, de-signed by Nuran Ünsal, the archi-tect. The design aimed to provide a pleasant shopping environment within a shaded alley type of space for Antalya’s hot summer tempera-tures. My role in the project in-volved completion of the design de-velopment phase with revisions in DD and uptades on the construction drawings. I handled these tasks by working directly with the architect.

In design development phase, the project revisions I helped with con-cerned resizing of some of the stores and improvement in the corner store entrances based on client’s needs, as well as changes in the formal characteristics to transform massing in relation to the street. I applied the changes into the drawings working with the architect; for example she and I discussed several options to improve the front and back entranc-es with modifications in the angular form. We made entrances from the street more inviting by playing with the angular form in relation to the street. Another design objective that formed the revisions as to maintain the visual connection and the alley form inside the shopping mall while maintaining the interplay of angu-lar projections towards central core in order to provide shaded areas.

Nuran Unsal Architecture1997Role: Architectural Intern

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Caretakers' Facility, the Nichols Arboretum Ann Arbor, MI

This project was a design proposal for Caretakers’ Facility in the Nich-ols Arboretum. It was developed within a group work for the Building Ecology seminar. I led the design development and brought the pro-posal in its final form by formulating the design ideas explored within the group. The programmatic require-ments of the assignment included a lodging unit, research lab and meet-ing spaces and maintenance ware-house with a garage. The design task was to accommodate these functions within a small building complex in harmony with the site. We as a group used the site condi-tions to derive ecological principles for this design task. The project site was in the wooded and seclud-ed corner of the Arboretum; the site was only partially exposed to sun and was vulnerable to minor flood-ing in the case of excessive rain.

In our design we took rainwater run-off and northern wind into consid-eration, and used the topography as an ecological design element. The buildings for three primary pro-grams (lodging, meeting-research, site maintanence) are placed stra-tegically in relation to each other to define a shared courtyard. Part of the courtyard is covered with board-walk to isolate users from rainwater runoff. The lodge is placed at the northern edge of the complex fac-ing towards south, and utilizes to-pography on the north and green house in the south faces for ener-gy efficiency. The front yard of the unit is sculpted as a wave-field and functioned to drain rainwater run-off stream to the hobby gardens.

University of MichiganTCAUP,Building Ecology2001Role: Team Leader

[email protected]

"Leisure Park" in the Old Gas Factory SiteAnkara, Turkey

METU, ArchitectureSenior design studio

1996, Role: Designer

The objective of this project was to develop a program for a “leisure park” and thus to reclaim the old Gas Factory site in Ankara. The project required exploring an appropriate type of “leisure” for the city and to motivate adaptive reuse of the site with new programmatic elements.

I formulated the leisure concept in conjunction with people’s relation-ship with nature in Ankara, which is a rare opportunity. I then focused the program of the “leisure park” on understanding and exploring nature and natural resources in the site of the old Gas Factory. This concept was also motivated with the intention of providing a green open space, as an antidote to dense building environment in the district. For the leisure park program, I proposed a “museum of natural resources and sciences” along with a landscape design with green elements and their geometric layout on site. The green open space along with the museum program aimed to stage the iconic gas factory buildings as objects to be seen as remains of an industrial site. In the studio, this project as-signed in the Fall’96 semester fa-cilitated our early explorations in ad-vance to the final assignment for the following Spring’97 semester, which then focused on the same site.


City Museum of Ankara: Narratives of The Capital City,

Ankara, Turkey

METU, ArchitectureSenior Year design studio1997, Role: DesignerThe project objective was to design a city museum of Ankara in the old Gas Factory site. It was expected that the design should provide space to explore and understand Ankara’s construction as the capital city of Turkey. How was the city urbanized in time? What are the characteristics of Ankara’s urban environment? How could urban characteristics of Ankara be present-ed in a museum located in the Gas Factory site, which was the one of the first industrial sites in the capital?

My proposal for this project exhibits origins of my de-sign approach as an architect. For the design of the city museum I derived my concept from a formal analysis of the urban morphology of Ankara. My analysis, “Learning from Ataturk Boulevard” captures the characteristics of the urban form in the deformed axis of the central artery, the Ataturk Boulevard. Indeed, the city grew out of an old merchant town and towards south along the Ataturk Boulevard. Each segment of the boulevard became more urbanized with new constructions over the decades.

Within this spatial logic, I placed educational and ad-ministrative facilities (i.e. library and curatorial office) at the entry of the factory site. This part of the build-ing was connected to the exhibition galleries through a glass bridge. The exhibition galleries were charac-terized by continuously ascending galleries that are intersected with flat spaces stacked vertically and thus to provide direct access to the site. The spatial logic of the museum was characterized by linearly formed and ascending galleries anchored to the site.

I proposed that the galleries housed in linear forms between the tower structures could present periods of formation of Ankara as a capital. Each of the lin-ear segments between the tower structures exhibit key historic periods of Ankara. While the galleries ascending towards the edge of the building can rep-resent the periods before Ankara became a capital city, the galleries ascending in the opposite direc-tion (towards the core of the entire building) can ex-hibit the city in its formation of being a modern capital.

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"Remembering/Reinventing Community: Chene Street, Detroit" An Exhibition Proposal for Detroit Historical Society

"A Century with Harley Davidson Motorcyles" Exhibition design with Virtual Modeling Language

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Exhibit Design

"Product Development Process of a Pen" An Interactive Exhibit for K-12 Children

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Remembering/Reinventing Community: Chene Street, Detroit

An Exhibition Proposal for Detroit Historical Society

B Sample boards illustrating how artifacts, photographs and documents are organized around the exhibition concepts.

C Exhibition layout proposal with primary concepts leading the placement and organiza-tion of the content and the connections between the concepts.

The Exhibition Content

This exhibition proposal is based on archival material illustrating the com-munity live of Eastern European im-migrants once lived and prospered in the Chene Street neighborhood of Detroit. The comprehensive archive consisted of objects, documents, photographs and other personal ac-counts from the turn of the century.

The challenge of the project is to design an exhibition that can re-store the memories of the immigrant community in the Chene Street and encourage people who once lived in the neighborhood to contribute to historic accounts. Although the Chene Street neighborhood of De-troit was once a vibrant community of Eastern European immigrants, but had degraded over the past decades due to economic decline and subsequent impoverishment of Detroit. These archival photo-graphs and documents provided tangible records of cultural and eth-nic traditions, work relations, com-munity associations, political atmo-sphere, and other components of urban living on the Chene Street.

Layout and Design Development

I led the project to determine the primary concepts through which the archival materials could be orga-nized. I formulated the physical lay-out of the exhibition and designed the connections between the pri-mary exhibit groups. The exhibition was structured around the concepts that once characterized the urban community in Chene Street, which were Urban Landscape, Ethnic-ity, Work, Community Associations, Crime and Politics. These connec-tions between the primary exhibit groups were designed to engage visitors with associations among the primary concepts, and to provoke further questions in visitors’ minds about the aspects of the commu-nity that can be explored further.

A Samples of the artifacts from the archive used in the exhibition.

University of MichiganMuseum Studies2005, Role: Designer/Team Leader

[email protected]

"A Century with Harley Davidson MotorcylesExhibition Design with Virtual Modeling Language

Goal and Method

This reconfigurable exhibition proj-ect developed to be experienced in virtual environment. The goal was to achive a task that cannot be done with conventional tools. I developed this exhibition proposal using the database of images from Harley Davidson motorcycles time-line available on the web. I modeled the exhibition environment using 3D max and developed the interactive simulation using the Virtual Real-ity Modeling Language (VRLM).

Design

I grouped available images in 25-year periods in four different catego-ries: factories, engines, accessories and posters. The number of images in each category vary in every 25-year period; for example there might be several posters available in pe-riod of 1951-1975 (because, for instance, the HD motorcycles were marketed frequently in those years), or greater number of images in the engines category express technical advancements in a given period. The exhibition layout is made up of these image panels placed in matrix of the determined categories and five year span in each 25-year period.

The layout of the selected 25-year period characterizes the Harvey Davidson motorcycles within that time period, by bringing up certain number of image panels in each category. The virtual exhibition proposal allows user select a 25-year period, reconfigures the lay-out based on image panels placed in the categories and takes the user to a virtual tour in the present layout.

A Screen shots from the virtually modeled exhibition walk through

B Exhibition layouts for selected period (1900-1925) with the sample images.C User menu for the selection.

University of MichiganVirtual Environments

2002 Role: Designer


"Product Development Process of a Pen": An Interactive Exhibit for K-12 Children

University of MichiganNSF-ERC2004-2007 Role: design+build leader

The project was part of the NSF funded reach-out program of UM Mechanical Engineering Depart-ment, Engineering Research Cen-ter. The exhibit aimed to informally educate K-12 children about manu-facturing engineering while provid-ing an entertaining experience with interactive features. Overall, the ex-hibit was a low budget project that required only part-time engage-ment of a multidisciplinary group. I designed the exhibit kiosk based on the team objectives. The team discussions supported an idea of an attractive and familiar object, “a mug with pens and rulers” that could stand out in an exhibit setting. I finalized the design to be made up of two parts, “a mug”, that housed the interactive game screen and equipment, and a notebook which presented the content in a graphic design. Once the design is final-ized, the exhibit kiosk is built with the use of recycled materials and objects and under my supervision. The team under my supervision was of a number of skillful builders who were students at the university.

At the end, the exhibit kiosk was installed in the local children muse-um, Ann Arbor Hands-on Museum and attracted a good number of au-diences. The team leaders, myself and the computer game designer Lylah Lyons, conducted observa-tional studied on the use of the ki-osk and took screen analytics. We used the analysis results to make small improvements in the project.

[email protected]

investigations on space and design

Documents

urban blocks

town urban form

urban morphologies

terms of urban block

downtown urban morphology

existing urban form

town holyoke

assessment of urban