Phenomenological Evaluation on Wayfinding in Complex Educational Buildings: The Case of ITU Faculty of Architecture

Year 2021, Volume: 2 Issue: 1, 285 - 312, 31.03.2021

Özlem Çavuş

Abstract

Orientation programs have a significant role in adaptation of novice students to the faculty building. These programs are mostly prepared by faculty staff or authority figures who have already known the building, so they may not descend to the level of those who are inexperienced of the faculty. Even if students are informed about the places in these programs, it can still be hard in finding places particularly in complex educational buildings until they get used to. Hence, experience-based approaches facilitating wayfinding are needed to cope with the problem. In this research, it is aimed to reveal the reasons for confusion and reference points students take in wayfinding through by phenomenological evaluation of the building. Istanbul Technical University (ITU) Faculty of Architecture is selected as a case study due to its complexity in wayfinding. A head-mounted GoPro is placed to 20 novice students and 10 senior students as a control group, and students are asked to find a target point and return to the initial point following the shortest path. The obtained results are then evaluated according to the measuring techniques proposed by Moles (2004), since the measurement needs to answer ill-defined situations obtained from experiences. As visual recordings of participants are compared in regards with the architectural mass, comparison and equality judgment, contrast or antinomy, and weight coefficient techniques are particularly utilized among the provided techniques. Beyond the expected data, the results of the study provide information about the factors, methods, and priorities that are effective in decision making. This research would contribute to the literature in showing how data set is created based on direct experience of users in wayfinding in complex educational buildings.

Keywords

Wayfinding, Orientation Programs, Phenomenology and Hermeneutics in Wayfinding, Educational Buildings

Thanks

This research is conducted by the author during the course named Phenomenology and Hermeneutics in Computational Design. The author would like to thank Assistant Professor Ethem Gürer and the participants for their valuable contribution.

Kompleks Eğitim Yapılarında Yön Bulmada Fenomenolojik Bir Değerlendirme: İTÜ Mimarlık Fakültesi Örneği

Abstract

Oryantasyon programları, yeni başlayan öğrencilerin fakülteye adaptasyonunda önemli bir role sahiptir. Fakat bu programlar daha çok fakülte personeli veya binayı önceden deneyimlemiş yetkili kişiler tarafından hazırlanır. Bu nedenle de oryantasyon programlarında yerlerin tanıtılma şekli fakülte binasını henüz deneyimlememiş kişilerin seviyesine inemeyebilir. Bu programlar sayesinde öğrenciler yerler hakkında bilgi sahibi olsalar bile fakülteye alışana kadar özellikle yapının kompleksliği arttıkça yön bulmakta zorlanabilirler. Bu yön bulma sorunuyla başa çıkmak adına birincil kullanıcıların doğrudan deneyimine dayalı yaklaşımlara ihtiyaç vardır. Bu araştırmada, bir eğitim yapısının fenomenolojik değerlendirmesi ile öğrencilerin yön bulmada kafa karışıklığının nedenleri ve yön bulmayı kolaylaştıran referans aldıkları noktalarının ortaya çıkarılması amaçlanmıştır. İstanbul Teknik Üniversitesi (İTÜ) Mimarlık Fakültesi binası yön bulmadaki karmaşıklığı nedeniyle örneklem olarak seçilmiştir. 20 yeni başlayan öğrencinin ve kontrol grubu olarak seçilen 10 mezun öğrencinin göz seviyesine gelecek şekilde bir GoPro yerleştirilmiş ve öğrencilerden bir hedef noktayı bulup en kısa yolu izleyerek başlangıç noktasına dönmeleri istenmiştir. Bu deneyimlerden elde edilen sonuçlar hasta tanımlı durumları yansıttığı için Moles (2004) tarafından önerilen ölçüm tekniklere göre değerlendirilmiştir. Katılımcıların görsel kayıtları mimari kütle özelinde karşılaştırılmış, sunulan teknikler arasında karşılaştırma ve eşitlik yargısı, zıtlık ve ağırlık katsayısı kullanılmıştır. Çalışmanın sonuçları beklenen verilerin ötesinde yön bulmada karar verme hususunda etkin olan faktörler, yöntemler, ve öncelik sıralamaları hakkında bilgi vermiştir. Bu çalışma ile oryantasyon programları kapsamında kompleks bir eğitim yapısında tanıtılacak yerlerin tanıtım şeklinin belirlenmesinde doğrudan deneyime dayalı bir veri havuzu ortaya koyması açısından literatüre katkısı vardır.

Keywords

Yön Bulma, Oryantasyon Programları, Yön Bulmada Fenomenoloji ve Hermenötik, Eğitim Yapıları

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