Designing Political Brand Identity Through Architecture: A Case of Malatya City Hall

Abstract

Corporate level awareness and understanding of political systems are widely spreading in politics through the application of marketing concepts by parties. This study explores how party ideology, hierarchical structures, and symbolism are embedded into the design of government buildings to enhance corporate communication with stakeholders. A design strategy that links architecture with politics views specific architectural features as semiotic resources for party identity and envisions them as design patterns in the future. This paper presents the Malatya City Hall as an example, which was designed using a similar architectural style to that of the Nationalist Movement Party Headquarters in Türkiye. Employing critical discourse analysis (CDA), we unveil the political structure underlying the Headquarters, which is subsequently transposed into the design of City Hall. The Ottoman-Seljuk architectural style, in its modern interpretation, serves as a reflection of political ideology in these buildings. The corporate organizational structure is emphasized through the president’s prominent position and the restricted accessibility to his spaces, evident in the layout design. Additionally, symbolism is incorporated by aligning the building’s architectural plan with the party’s logo, creating a direct visual representation of political brand identity.

Keywords

• architectural design
• political party headquarters
• city hall
• political marketing
• critical discourse analysis

Mimarlık Aracılığıyla Politik Marka Kimliği Tasarımı: Malatya Belediye Binası Örneği

Abstract

Politik sistemlere dair kurumsal düzeyde oluşan farkındalık ve anlayış, pazarlama kavramlarının partiler tarafından uygulanması ile hızla yayılmaktadır. Bu çalışmada, parti ideolojisinin, hiyerarşik oluşumların ve sembolizmin, devlet yapılarının tasarımında kavramsal çerçeve içine nasıl entegre edilerek, tüm paydaşlara ulaşan bir kurumsal iletişimi teşvik edeceği incelenmektedir. Mimarlığı politikayla ilişkilendirmeyi amaçlayan bir tasarım stratejisi, belirli mimari özellikleri parti kimliği için gösterge bilimsel kaynaklar olarak ele almakta ve bunları gelecekteki tasarım kalıpları olarak öngörebilmektedir. Bu makale, Türkiye’deki Milliyetçi Hareket Partisi Genel Merkezi ile benzer bir mimari üsluba sahip olan Malatya Belediye Binası örneğini sunmaktadır. Eleştirel söylem çözümlemesi yöntemi ile genel merkez binasında kullanılmış olan ve sonrasında belediye binasında benzer mimari özellikler aracılığıyla referans verilmiş siyasi izler ortaya çıkarılmaya çalışılmıştır. Osmanlı-Selçuklu mimari stili, modern yorumuyla bu binalarda politik ideolojinin bir yansıması olarak karşımıza çıkmaktadır. Kurumsal hiyerarşi, başkanlık mevkiinin belirgin konumu ve kontrollü mekânsal erişimin tasarımı ile vurgulanırken, sembolizm bina planının parti logosuyla uyumlu hale getirilmesiyle güçlendirilmiş ve siyasi marka kimliği görsel olarak temsil edilmiştir.

Keywords

• mimari tasarım
• politik parti genel merkez binası
• belediye binası
• siyasal pazarlama
• eleştirel söylem çözümlemesi

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