MAKING OF THE CITY: UNCOVERING THE PLAN GAME

2021-7-09
Türk, Cansu
Throughout the design process of a built environment, considering architecture and urban design separately and not associating them spatially cause the fundamental obstacle in integrating these fields. The thesis seeks to analyze the possibility of an alternative approach towards making of the city by emphasizing the spatial and typological features of architecture and focusing on the relation between the urban spaces and architecture. Besides, it highlights the value of benefiting from architectural precedents in the design process. In this regard, Plan Game invented by Colin Rowe, Bernhard Hoesli, Robert Slutzky, and John Hejduk in the 1950s in Texas University could offer such an alternative position, which has been studied limitedly yet in the field of architecture. Plan Game emphasizes the integration of spatial and typological qualities of architecture with the urban design process. By analyzing the techniques and content of the drawing, its actors, its context, and its pedagogical dimension, this thesis uncovers the Plan Game and discusses the possible contribution of this approach to urban and architectural researches. The thesis also analyzes three in-class exercises referencing Plan Game as a pedagogical reflection of this creative recombination approach: the studio assignment of Bernhard Hoesli at ETH Zurich, the Exquisite Conurbation exercise that Mark Morris continued for a semester at Cornell University, and the City of Composite Presence produced by two graduate students at Cornell University. Within the scope of the thesis, Plan Game Workshop Series was organized with the participation of faculty members, practicing architects, and graduate students to carry this valuable exercise to the contemporary discussion and observe diverse approaches towards the interaction between the architecture and urban spaces. Hence, the thesis discusses diverse aspects of Plan Game to uncover underlying ideas of the drawing and track the possible integration of this fictitious exercise to the architectural design studios as a pedagogical tool.

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Citation Formats
C. Türk, “MAKING OF THE CITY: UNCOVERING THE PLAN GAME,” M.Arch. - Master of Architecture, Middle East Technical University, 2021.