The most important and perhaps the most valuable difference of landscape from other design disciplines is the extraordinary privilege of creating spaces and establishing time with alive, natural plants and also inanimate materials. Whereas in architecture, this can be possible only with inanimate materials.
comparison: architecture, landscape
“Public” and “public space” is a concept whose content is sometimes vague, often confused, and has a wide range of discussion areas. Just as landscape architecture and architecture. Two different specialties that are sometimes confused with each other or used interchangeably. For this reason, it may be more meaningful to explain both professional practices through publicness.
Although it is not a concept equivalent to “state”, the word “public” is sometimes used in a sense close to the state. However, from the Ottoman Turkish to this day the meaning of the term public corresponds to ‘all, whole, everyone’ ‘and all people’ and it means ‘belongs to everyone, about everyone’. Starting from this context, public spaces are simply: the most important urban spaces that are accessible to everyone, I mean all citizens, and available for the use of all city dwellers, which form a basis for the formation of a common social life. They are the spaces enable every aspect of art to meet with the city, they make the city a “city” and make it live.
Landscape-oriented public space, on the other hand, describes the social, economic, cultural and spatial diversity in all outdoor areas city have. The presence of the people in the city and the meaning of the city in the individual are directly related to the activities taking place in the public space. This relationship enables the development of programs that support shared spaces, social life and activities both physically, socially and artistically in the city.
Both design disciplines constitute the different lives of the inhabitants, their relationship with each other and the reflection of this social structure on the urban space, that is, the basic values that make up the city. While these qualities reveal the identities of the cities themselves, landscape and architectural projects describe “the spirit of that place” sometimes together and sometimes in different languages and give service to the absolute “user of that place, the memory of that city”. Both disciplines serve the formation of “space”.
Landscape oriented project has a management and spatial organization of multiple components. In the project design of the urban-oriented public space, a singular-oriented work emerges, in which the design of buildings that are determined according to the requirements revealed by the area use pattern analysis and shaped by the way how area use.
We can describe space design as the act of creating a visual language about form. Design is an action based on the interaction of form, structure, society and cultural elements.
public space integrated with the landscape
This is actually closely related to the nature, location and values of the project area.
For example; the design of a memorial site and the design of a city park or the design of a health or education campus and the design of cultural heritage sites, are different from each other. Likewise, in the areas where historical and religious rituals are performed, the functions that users will share and enjoy to be in and the motifs, colors and materials that will be attributed to these functions are very different from each other. When we look at it only through an example of a park, the geography, climate, texture and shape of the city where this park area is located are effective elements in the design of a public space that integrates with the landscape.
In addition to its physical, cultural and historical values, the demographic structure of “that place”, its user profile, age groups and tendencies, social and social needs are among the main parameters that we pay attention to. For example, whether there is a sports area nearby in a small, neighbourhood park, if it is an urban-scale park, whether it is located on the ecological thresholds of the city, or whether it is located in the corridor with urban open spaces, which we call the step marks of the landscape, is priority for us. Then we determine the typologies of recreation, entertainment and various sociocultural activities of the users. The most important and perhaps the most valuable difference of landscape from other design disciplines is the extraordinary privilege of creating spaces and establishing time with alive, natural plants and also inanimate materials. Whereas in architecture, this can be possible only with inanimate materials.
Social spaces that shape daily life are gaining more importance, especially in multi-cultural and multi-layered cities whose changes are in the direction of growth and populations are becoming more complex. I understand the concept of the "square", one of the public spaces of the city, as a space that allows face to face socialization for people and reduces social alienation at the border where urban design intersects with sociology.
user oriented public space
The phrase “enabling people to use large spaces while bringing together” is actually the main language of our urban design projects. The nature of the spaces may be different but the language is the same. We can describe space design as the act of creating a visual language about form. Design is an action based on the interaction of form, structure, society and cultural elements. While social context includes the analysis of how space is used or not used by citizens in everyday life and the perception of space shaped by human activities, urban context provides examinations of existing urban spaces / gaps / urban service areas / infrastructure elements as input to research. A spatial design approach in which these two contexts are addressed is based on the understanding that design has a concept of publicness by going beyond the act of form production. Within the framework of this understanding, we aim to develop a perspective that focuses on the relationship between city – landscape – design.
If you can analyze of the space (park, campus, cultural, archaeological, wetland area etc.) in accordance with its technique and make a program in which the city’s data is well synthesized, your design which develops with the plan decisions to be taken for the project area, gives you all the clues of which functions are suitable for how much and which carrying capacity. After this, the only thing to do is to reveal the setting, form and production quality of your design. Now, in every area designed, no matter what profile it serves, an absolute and balanced area has been designed for the user to experience the feeling of being “together” or “alone”.
projects: similarities, differences
Landscape means “area” or “place”, “natural space” or “natural environment”. In other words, it is the geography itself. In all our projects that we have designed and implemented, we need to concentrate on taking physical and social precautions against the negativities that take place in our wildly urbanized lives or that will occur in the future because of the developing technology, and also management and organization of the landscape created as a result of the interaction and activity of natural factors or by the interaction of people. This approach is actually a must.
The existence of my profession is based on this fact. For this reason, as a person who worked first in the public sector and then in the academy and as the founder of On Tasarım firm, I can explain the similar and differentiating features in the project areas that have been integrated with the landscape until today as “similarities and differences” between the characteristics of the area to be projected.
city square…
Urbanization rate in our country has reached up to 97% in recent years. When I consider the high rate of immigration to the city, dense population and social transformation as an urban designer, I care more about the role of city squares.
Social spaces that shape daily life are gaining more importance, especially in multi-cultural and multi-layered cities whose changes are in the direction of growth and populations are becoming more complex. I understand the concept of the “square”, one of the public spaces of the city, as a space that allows face to face socialization for people and reduces social alienation at the border where urban design intersects with sociology.
While designing the squares that constitute the centrifugal force of our cities in many different regions and cultures; we pay attention to the fact that it is a design that respects the texture of the city’s natural and cultural memory, carefully touches the contours of its topography and landscape, and presents outstanding examples of art and public space organization. In the square projects, we take care that the materials and construction systems to be used in the public space are compatible with the urban space and design. In the light of these criteria, we aim to design projects in which climatic, auditory, visual comfort and architectural design relation; social, economic, cultural qualities; physical environment – settlement texture relations are determined and we pay attention to these points.
In addition to creating a recreation area that will offer new opportunities for the square and its immediate surroundings and will take place in various social activities, culture, leisure and entertainment uses, we also care about the creation of unique spaces that include technical, aesthetic, recreational and scientific, multi-faceted purposes, and where aiming and interpreting contemporary design principles and practices in this regard.
In this context, the attitude and language of the landscape and architecture are important. Within the scope of the project, sensitive touches are made with plan decisions that will not harm the character of all layers of the landscape. With the pedestrian paths and city balconies integrated with the architectural texture, seating, resting and watching opportunities are created that can be used all day long. Food and beverage units and other architectural solutions are designed when necessary. Care is taken to ensure functional, spatial etc. integrity and continuity in pedestrian and vehicle transportation between the square and the city whole or its surroundings.
