Bodily Experience in Space and Design: The Case of a First Year Studio Project at ITU Department of Architecture

Abstract

In this paper, one of the projects of the first year design studio at ITU Faculty of Architecture, entitled “body- space-function” is introduced in relation to the notion of “bodily experience”. In this studio, students have designed an object as an extension of the body which co-exists with its visual and functional integrity by applying the different ways of seeing and thinking, discovering patterns and relationships, not only stimulating intellectually but also satisfying emotionally and spiritually. Students were asked to design an object as the extension of body, contributing its functional entity with its portable and transformable character and to give a reasonable “name” in accordance with the theme. In order to support this experiential approach to design, the “Dance workshop” and “Jewelry workshop” which have contributed to students’ awareness of bodily experience in space can be considered as emotion-driven tools in design education. The aim of this paper is to examine the steps of the design process in a mutual interplay of emotion and thought, to illustrate the contribution of workshops to the development of creative thinking and to discuss the design products and personal experiences of students by using visual materials.