Refereed Articles by Acalya Allmer
The Journal of Modern Craft, 2017
This article discusses how contemporary architects reinterpret traditional craft practices such a... more This article discusses how contemporary architects reinterpret traditional craft practices such as ironwork, woodwork, stonework, knitting, lacework, and paper craft in their building designs. It explores the Polish Expo Pavilion in Shanghai (2010) and Nottingham Contemporary (2009) in terms of digital design and manufacturing technology.
In both buildings, the architects simulate the craftwork of paperwork and lacework on the façades of their buildings. Through the virtuosic use of CAD (computer-aided design) and CAM (computer-aided manufacturing), they expand the eld of contemporary ornament by reintroducing tradi- tional craftwork. The study argues that digital technology contributes to contemporary architecture as a tool for restoring traditions of craftwork, as much as an innovative medium for rendering images and presenting architecture. Simulating craftwork or reinterpreting handicrafts at the scale of a whole building positions history in a contempo- rary context. Renouncing Adolf Loos’ remark on ornament as wasted labor and time, the digitally fabricated ornament is produced effortlessly, requiring little human labor. Yet, the worker’s natural irregularity, or “maker’s stamp” in John Ruskin’s terms, are missing from these digital fabrications: there is no defect, or trace of an architect’s presence in digital craftwork. Being devoid of such criteria that usually characterize craft, the paper states that mastery is rede ned in the age of advanced digital technology and probes the current emphasis given to the digital image and its surface effects.
ITU A/Z Journal of the Faculty of Architecture, 2016
For over a century, the controversial issue of ornament has oscillated between the two extreme co... more For over a century, the controversial issue of ornament has oscillated between the two extreme conditions of being condemned and praised. Although current architecture receives ornament enthusiastically due to its design potentials, it still remains as a problematic and critical topic, as it maintains its blurry and slippery character. The aim of this study is to construct the theoretical framework of ornament in the twenty-first century architectural domain. The paper intends to investigate the reemergence of this-yet-ambiguous issue to evaluate its new aspects, and redefine its limits in contemporary architectural theory and practice. Being much more than an intricate architectural element, an in-depth study of ornament overlaps its reemergence with social, cultural, and economical status quo. Through the examination of specific contemporary case studies, this study makes a layered reading of architectural ornament as an instrument of image-driven contemporary culture within spectacle-laden public sphere. In contemporary architecture, the digital, structural, sensual, representational, and symbolic facets stratify ornament metaphorically and literally, making it an intense medium of impression and expression. Ornamental buildings emerge as embodiments of consumption, exhibition, and public attention, by contributing to image-making, commercial success, and marketing strategy, in addition to the performance of ornament as a challenging designerly instrument.
This paper focuses on the composition of portraits as a method of decorating building façades in ... more This paper focuses on the composition of portraits as a method of decorating building façades in contemporary architecture. Giant portraits on façades are displayed for public view, and they are conceived more as images and urban adornments. In parallel with the current domination of image flood in contemporary architecture, mass media is expanding worldwide and transforming objects into images. As also stated by the French Situationist Guy Debord (1967), the accumulation of spectacles represents modern life and mediates social relations. Following the ideas of Debord, contemporary culture is defined by the acts of advertising, displaying, consuming, and commercializing. This paper explores the issue of archi-portraits, and reveals the concepts of power, memory, history, and self-display through contemporary building façades.
Online Journal of Art and Design, vol. 3, no. 3, 2015
The first exhibition of Russian art since the Revolution was held in Berlin at the Van Diemen Gal... more The first exhibition of Russian art since the Revolution was held in Berlin at the Van Diemen Gallery in the spring of 1922. In Camilla Gray's terms it was 'the most important and the only comprehensive exhibition of Russian abstract art to be seen in the West' (Gray, 1962:315). The exhibition was organized and arranged by Russian architect El Lissitzky who acted as a link between the Russian avant-garde and that of the west. He played a seminal role especially in Germany, where he had lived before the war and where he was a constant visitor between 1922 and 1928. The diversity of El Lissitzky's talents in many fields of art including graphic design, painting, and photography made him known as 'travelling salesman for the avant-garde.' However, what makes the theoretical and visual works of Lissitzky discontinuous and divergent is that they include apparently contradictory domains. Through his short life by shifting different modes of representations -perspective, axonometry, photomontage -Lissitzky sometimes presented us a number of problems in his irrational way of using the techniques. This article concentrates on his contradictory arguments on representation of space especially between 1920 and 1924, by re-reading his theoretical texts published in the avant-garde magazines of the period and looking through his well-preserved visual works.
METU Journal of the Faculty of Architecture, vol. 32, no. 1, 2015
Kültür endüstrisi tarafından üretilen imgeler, içinde bulunduğumuz görsel iletişim çağında oldukç... more Kültür endüstrisi tarafından üretilen imgeler, içinde bulunduğumuz görsel iletişim çağında oldukça hızlı çoğaltılıp yayılmaktadır. İmge yığınlarının günümüzdeki yükselişi, çağdaş mimarlıkta süs kavramını da etkilemektedir. Süs, temsil etme özelliğini geri kazanırken hızla üretilebilir ve çoğaltılabilir olmuştur. Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) gibi bazı çağdaş mimarların yapılarında süsün önemli bir yeri olmasına karşın bu yapılar mimarlık yazınında süsleme açısından irdelenmemektedir. Bu yazıda BIG’in Arlanda Oteli tasarımı (Stockholm, 2007), çağdaş mimarlıkta süs üzerinden tartışılmaktadır. Aynı zamanda, BIG’in Yes is More: An Archicomic on Architectural Evolution (2010) adlı ilk monografı bir araç olarak kullanarak binanın metinsel ve görsel temsiliyeti incelenmektedir. Arlanda Oteli’nin cepheleri, süslemeler aracılığıyla İsveç Krallığı’nı temsil etmektedir. Cephelerin portre oluşturacak biçimde tasarlanması, öncelikle BIG’in ironik tutumundan kaynaklanmaktadır. Yirminci yüzyılda postmodernizmin bir aracı olan ironi, BIG ile yeniden gündeme gelmektedir. Projede tasarım girdisi olarak kullanılan ironi, rasyonel ve irrasyonel, olağan ve sıra dışılık, derinlik ve sığlık arasında gidip gelen bir düşünme dinamiğinden oluşur. Birbiriyle çelişen anlamları barındıran çok katmanlı ironi kavramı, bu nedenle BIG’in mimarlığında kaygan bir zeminde gelişir. Cephelerin tasarımında Pop sanatçısı Andy Warhol’a yaptıkları göndermeler de BIG’in ironik duruşunun bir parçasıdır. Yapıdaki süslemeler, prenses figürünü yeniden üretirken yapıyı saf görsel bir imgeye ve seyirlik yüzeylere dönüştürür.
ARQ Architectural Research Quarterly, vol. 19, no. 1, pp. 30–40 , 2015
This article examines the use of simulacrum and simulation in the Mountain Dwellings project by B... more This article examines the use of simulacrum and simulation in the Mountain Dwellings project by Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG)
Birincil uğraş alanı mekân olan mimarlık disiplini ile cinsiyet ilişkisi, farklı perspektifler ba... more Birincil uğraş alanı mekân olan mimarlık disiplini ile cinsiyet ilişkisi, farklı perspektifler barındıran geniş bir çalışma alanı tanımlamaktadır. Cinsiyet olgusu insanlar arasındaki en temel ayrımı şekillendirmekte, tüm dünya nüfusunu, " kadın ve erkek " olarak iki gruba ayırmaktadır. Toplum, bu ayrıma dayanarak kadın ve erkeğe farklı davranmakta, onlara farklı özellikler ve görevler yüklemektedir. Yaşanan cinsiyetler arası ayrım, mekânsal farklılaşmayı da beraberinde getirmektedir. Cinsiyet-mekân arasındaki ilişkinin toplumsal kabullere paralel okunabileceği önemli alanlardan biri reklamcılık sektörüdür. Reklam, var olan tüketim kültürü ve toplumdaki sosyo-kültürel yapı ile doğrudan ilişkilidir. Reklam iletilerinde yaratılan rol-modeller ve desteklenen davranış kalıplarıyla, yalnızca sosyo-kültürel alanda değil, mekânsal organizasyon anlamında da dişi ile eril olanın sınırları pekiştirilmekte ya da yeniden belirlenip sunulabilmektedir. XX-XY cinsiyet kodları reklam iletileri üzerinden yeniden anlamlandırılabilmekte, yeni eşleştirmeler içinde sergilenebilmektedir. Bu düşünceden hareketle çalışma kapsamında, İkea firması özelinde reklam amaçlı hazırlanan ürün kataloglarında yaratılan mekân imgeleri üzerinden cinsiyet-mekân ilişkisi irdelenmektedir. Eve dair herşeyi bir bütün halinde sunan İkea firması ve firma söyleminin süreklilik gösterdiği ürün kataloglarında yaratılan " kurgusal ev " imgesi, olanak sağladığı yeni okumalar ile araştırma alanını oluşturmuştur. Çalışmanın, mekânsal kurgu ile günlük yaşama ait toplumsal kurgu arasındaki bağın öncelikli temsil alanı olan evsel alan üzerinden yürütülmesi tercih edilmiş, eril kodlar ile evsel alan ilişkisi üzerinde durulmuştur. Bu bağlamda çalışma, 2010, 2011 ve 2012 yıllarına ait yayınlanan Türkçe İkea katalogları ile sınırlandırılmış, ele alınan görsel sunumlar mekân-cinsiyet ilişkisi bağlamında, söylem analizi ile irdelenmiştir.
Bu çalışma fotoğrafı iletişim aracı olarak kullanan mimarlık ile onu mekânsal nesnesi olarak kull... more Bu çalışma fotoğrafı iletişim aracı olarak kullanan mimarlık ile onu mekânsal nesnesi olarak kullanan fotoğraf arasındaki ilişki üzerine odaklanır. Bu ikili ilişki mimarlığın fotoğrafı kendi biçemi doğrultusunda yönlendirmesi açısından oldukça önemlidir. Bu doğrultuda çalışmada modern mimarlığın kurucularından olan Le Corbusier'nin, resimden sonra en çok kullandığı görsel 'araç' (medya) olan fotoğraf ile kurduğu bağ tanımlanacaktır. Le Corbusier'nin fotoğrafı kullanma amacı, sadece yapıtları kaydetmek veya geleceğe aktarmak değil, aynı zamanda mimarlığa olan bakış açısını izleyiciye yansıtmaktır. Çalışmada Le Corbusier'nin düşünsel izleğini aktarırken kullandığı yöntemler incelenirken, bu yöntemlerin alışılmış yöntemlerden ayrıldığı noktalar tartışılacaktır.
Architectural Research Quarterly, Jan 1, 2009
... 9 Page 8. and Gregor Sunder Plassmann are given the task of curating the museum. 19. On the r... more ... 9 Page 8. and Gregor Sunder Plassmann are given the task of curating the museum. 19. On the representations of Istanbul in The Black Book, see Beyhan Bolak Hisarlıgil, 'Constructed Space in Literature as Represented in Novels. ...
Architectural Theory Review, Jan 1, 2009
This essay focuses on The Simpsons as a means of illustrating the peculiar problems of the curren... more This essay focuses on The Simpsons as a means of illustrating the peculiar problems of the current practice of architecture. The show offers a cartoon version of current practice of architecture marked by spectacle and commodification. As the first architect to appear in a Simpsons' episode, ...
Architectural Research Quarterly, Jan 1, 2007
Page 1. 'The power of architecture (the potential of architecture) is integral to the sp... more Page 1. 'The power of architecture (the potential of architecture) is integral to the spirit that orders the grouping of the elements that make up the house; because architecture emanates, and does not clad; it is more an odour ...
Textile: The Journal of Cloth and Culture, Jan 1, 2008
Besides their practical function of separating stage from auditorium, or that of serving as a bac... more Besides their practical function of separating stage from auditorium, or that of serving as a backdrop, curtains have been a fundamental symbol of theater spaces. Curtains, by all means, differentiate the two levels of existence between audience and actors, as well as ...
My windows hung with lace curtains (Valenciennes, Venice, Bruges, Scotland) combined according to... more My windows hung with lace curtains (Valenciennes, Venice, Bruges, Scotland) combined according to the formula: n m A = m (m -1) (m -2) … (m -n + 1)"
Book Chapters by Acalya Allmer
Literature, landscape design, film, visual arts, architecture, and many others, are disciplines ... more Literature, landscape design, film, visual arts, architecture, and many others, are disciplines in which frames prevail. As a consequence of the wide-spread and interdisciplinary use of the term ‘frame’, different meanings have been attributed to the notion of ‘frame’. From an architectural point of view, there is indeed a profound relationship between frame and architecture. There are many possible ways in which one can discuss framing in architecture. Among these possibilities, the first that comes into mind is frames being structural elements of a building. A quick Google search will bring up references mostly on this meaning of frames in architecture. When the term occurs within the ‘frame’ of architecture, it might also mean that architectural windows serve to frame views. The frame can also be attributed a metaphorical meaning. It can imply a certain perspective that shapes the focus of our attention. This paper concentrates on the use of frame as an architectural construct, as exemplified in the Rahmenbau, which was courteously provided on the call for papers of the Framings Conference. The Rahmenbau (English: The Frame Building) by Haus-Rucker-Co offers a critique of the act of framing; and it has been somehow hitherto overlooked by art and architectural historians. Situating it self in the transitional ground between architecture, design and art, the Rahmenbau is unique in its distinctive emphasis on the perceptual realm and framing strategies.
MIMED Forum IV: Flexibility in Architectural Education, edited by B. Bolak Hisarligil, S. Lokce and O. Turan, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2013
This article introduces an interdisciplinary approach to design as an experimental method in arch... more This article introduces an interdisciplinary approach to design as an experimental method in architectural design education, whose aim is not to discover architectural forms and ideas but to interpret and represent existing forms and concepts in another language at a different scale. It also aims to improve students' creativity, their perception of three-dimensional forms, and the means of expressing them. The following second-year undergraduate studio project, which was funded by the Chamber of Architects, İzmir Chapter, offers an example of this approach.
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Refereed Articles by Acalya Allmer
In both buildings, the architects simulate the craftwork of paperwork and lacework on the façades of their buildings. Through the virtuosic use of CAD (computer-aided design) and CAM (computer-aided manufacturing), they expand the eld of contemporary ornament by reintroducing tradi- tional craftwork. The study argues that digital technology contributes to contemporary architecture as a tool for restoring traditions of craftwork, as much as an innovative medium for rendering images and presenting architecture. Simulating craftwork or reinterpreting handicrafts at the scale of a whole building positions history in a contempo- rary context. Renouncing Adolf Loos’ remark on ornament as wasted labor and time, the digitally fabricated ornament is produced effortlessly, requiring little human labor. Yet, the worker’s natural irregularity, or “maker’s stamp” in John Ruskin’s terms, are missing from these digital fabrications: there is no defect, or trace of an architect’s presence in digital craftwork. Being devoid of such criteria that usually characterize craft, the paper states that mastery is rede ned in the age of advanced digital technology and probes the current emphasis given to the digital image and its surface effects.
Book Chapters by Acalya Allmer
In both buildings, the architects simulate the craftwork of paperwork and lacework on the façades of their buildings. Through the virtuosic use of CAD (computer-aided design) and CAM (computer-aided manufacturing), they expand the eld of contemporary ornament by reintroducing tradi- tional craftwork. The study argues that digital technology contributes to contemporary architecture as a tool for restoring traditions of craftwork, as much as an innovative medium for rendering images and presenting architecture. Simulating craftwork or reinterpreting handicrafts at the scale of a whole building positions history in a contempo- rary context. Renouncing Adolf Loos’ remark on ornament as wasted labor and time, the digitally fabricated ornament is produced effortlessly, requiring little human labor. Yet, the worker’s natural irregularity, or “maker’s stamp” in John Ruskin’s terms, are missing from these digital fabrications: there is no defect, or trace of an architect’s presence in digital craftwork. Being devoid of such criteria that usually characterize craft, the paper states that mastery is rede ned in the age of advanced digital technology and probes the current emphasis given to the digital image and its surface effects.
The narrative space of the novel is the city of Istanbul, as usual in Pamuk’s work. Pamuk’s novel provides a rich frame of reference to Istanbul, “a city of ruins and of end-of-empire melancholy,” as he called in Istanbul: Memories and the City (IMC, 6). Besides Füsun’s house, there are many literary spaces narrated in the novel, either real or imaginary. Against the background of the bourgeois Istanbul, Pamuk describes many objects or belongings of Füsun. Through the confrontation between word and image, the novel turns into an exhaustive catalogue of Füsun’s practical and nonpractical belongings. For the readers of the novel who might want to visit this museum, a black and white map has been printed on the last page of the book. Likewise, on page 574 of the novel is a printed ticket which offers free access to the Museum of Innocence — real, imagined, imaginary and, reinvented.
This paper will explore the three different ways of existence Pamuk constructs. The first is the novel which is the written text, the second is the image that the reader of the novel paints in the mind’s eye, and lastly the museum in Çukurcuma which resembles an eighteenth-century Wunderkammer (cabinet de curiositiés) more than a modern museum."
The Archi-Couture exhibition criticises the haut-couture architecture that is gradually enslaving our world of architecture. The universal criticism in the collages finds its focal point in transience, superficiality, or in other words, "a world of illusion". The clothing facades hung over a concealed structure, the dazzling materials used in the covering, prompt us to question why outer surfaces have been chosen that do not correspond to the inner spaces.
In the book entitled Learning from Las Vegas, which can be seen as the manifesto of post-modern architecture, Robert Venturi, Steven Izenour and Denise Scott-Brown term the post-modern design type in 1972 "the decorated shed". This is an ordinary shed put over the decor at a later date. Thirty odd years after Venturi and friends wrote about it, it would be true to say that the present day concept of the decorated shed has undergone a change. The decorated shed has been transformed into a garment, and what’s more, a haute-couture garment. Of course there are bodies to go with these clothes. Similarly, all the buildings in the collages have functional interiors. However, this lack of connectivity between interior and exterior makes it possible for the exterior to be more attractive, more charming, more enticing, and more resplendent.
The Archi-couture exhibition parades before our eyes once more the world of pretence and illusion in present day architecture.