A master\u2019s thesis completed by Fuat Ta\u015fk\u0131rano\u011flu at Y\u0131ld\u0131z Technical University in 2003. The study asks whether the computer in architecture is a medium for presenting a finished design, or a medium within which the design itself is built. The full text of the thesis is at the end of this page.<\/p>\n\n
Author \u2014 Fuat Ta\u015fk\u0131rano\u011flu
Type \u2014 Master\u2019s thesis
Institution \u2014 Y\u0131ld\u0131z Technical University, Graduate School of Science and Engineering
Programme \u2014 Department of Architecture, Computational Design Programme
Supervisor \u2014 Prof. Dr. Necati \u0130nceo\u011flu
Year \u2014 2003
Length \u2014 78 pages
Keywords \u2014 design theory, sketch, digital media, representation, computational design<\/p>\n\n
The study opens with an overview of design theory; it examines the structure of the design problem and the place the sketch holds in traditional design processes. The second chapter takes up the constraints of digital media: how form is represented in computer graphics, the parametric structure of formal models, and the difference between producing and presenting within this medium. The third chapter moves, by way of the analogies that can be drawn between architecture and language, to formal grammars and shape grammars; the basic geometric transformations applied to shapes and Boolean operations are covered there.<\/p>\n\n
The fourth chapter is the record of a single process. The method H. Beraha, O. Vlora and C. \u00d6zda\u015f developed for the Grand Egyptian Museum competition is examined step by step, as an instance of the computer used as an instrument of thought.<\/p>\n\n
At the axis of the thesis stands a distinction about what digital media produces in architecture: objects to look at and objects to think with. Once a design is visualized in order to be presented, it breaks away from its context and turns into an image whose architectural identity goes unquestioned; the same medium, used inside the process, lets the designer build a method of their own.<\/p>\n\n
From here the concluding chapter arrives at a prediction: by writing programs and scripts that intervene in software from the outside, architects will come to design how they will design buildings. In other words, they will also design their design methods.<\/p>\n\n
Bu \u00e7al\u0131\u015fma, son y\u0131llarda geli\u015fen bilgisayar ortam\u0131nda tasar\u0131m kavram\u0131n\u0131, tasar\u0131m kuram\u0131, tasar\u0131m problemlerinin yap\u0131s\u0131, dijital medya, “computational” tasar\u0131m kavram\u0131 \u00fczerinden irdelemektedir.<\/p>\n\n
1960’lar\u0131n ortalar\u0131nda ortaya \u00e7\u0131kan CAD kavram\u0131 bu zamana kadar \u00f6nemli evrimler ge\u00e7irdi. CAD bu zaman i\u00e7erisinde, \u00f6zellikle g\u00fcn\u00fcm\u00fczde teorik alanda art\u0131k sadece tasarlanm\u0131\u015f yap\u0131lar\u0131n ya da nesnelerin sunuldu\u011fu, bas\u0131l\u0131 ya da g\u00f6rsel d\u00f6k\u00fcman haline getirildi\u011fi bir medya olmaktan \u00e7ok tasarlanan\u0131n tasarland\u0131\u011f\u0131 bir medya haline gelmi\u015ftir. Bu durum do\u011fas\u0131 itibariyle tasar\u0131m kuram\u0131 i\u00e7in de bir paradigma de\u011fi\u015fimidir. \u00c7\u00fcnk\u00fc yarat\u0131lan \u00fcr\u00fcn, onu yaratan \u00f6znenin veya \u00f6znelerin eseri oldu\u011fu kadar, onu yaratmak i\u00e7in kullan\u0131lan y\u00f6ntemlerin ve s\u00fcrecinde sonucudur.<\/p>\n\n
Tasar\u0131m yapmak i\u00e7in \u015fimdiye kadar kullan\u0131lagelen geleneksel medya olan ka\u011f\u0131ttan bilgisayar ortam\u0131na ge\u00e7i\u015fle, tasar\u0131mc\u0131n\u0131n \u00fcr\u00fcne y\u00f6nelik ustal\u0131\u011f\u0131 ve yarat\u0131c\u0131 g\u00fcd\u00fcs\u00fcn\u00fcn yan\u0131nda i\u00e7inde tasar\u0131m yapt\u0131\u011f\u0131 ortamla ilgili de belli yeterliliklere sahip olmas\u0131 hatta tasar\u0131m s\u00fcreci ile ilgili al\u0131\u015f\u0131lagelmi\u015f metodlardan farkl\u0131la\u015fm\u0131\u015f yeni metodlar ve ki\u015fisel y\u00f6ntemler kullanmas\u0131 olanakl\u0131 hale gelmi\u015ftir.<\/p>\n\n
Bu anlamda tasar\u0131m kuram\u0131 i\u00e7in genel bir bak\u0131\u015f sunulmu\u015f, tasar\u0131m problemlerinin yap\u0131s\u0131 ve geleneksel tasar\u0131m e\u011filimlerinde \u00f6nemli bir yer tutan eskiz kavram\u0131 incelenmi\u015ftir.<\/p>\n\n
Bilgisayar ortam\u0131nda tasar\u0131m kavram\u0131 konusunda bir temel olu\u015fturmak amac\u0131yla, dijital medyan\u0131n en temel k\u0131s\u0131tlar\u0131, bilgisayar grafi\u011finde bi\u00e7imlerin temsil edilmesi, mimari kompozisyonu analiz etmek ve \u00fcretmek i\u00e7in kullan\u0131lan temel geometrik transformasyonlar gibi konular irdelenmi\u015ftir.<\/p>\n\n
Tasarlama kavram\u0131ndaki s\u00f6zkonusu de\u011fi\u015fimin \u00f6z\u00fcn\u00fc daha iyi kavramak i\u00e7in de, algoritma, mimarl\u0131k ve dil aras\u0131ndaki benzerlikler, formel diller, bi\u00e7im gramerleri gibi s\u00f6zkonusu de\u011fi\u015fimin olagelmesine zemin haz\u0131rlayan belirli tasar\u0131m-bili\u015fim kavramlar\u0131na da bu noktadan genel bir bak\u0131\u015f sunulmu\u015ftur.<\/p>\n\n
Son b\u00f6l\u00fcmde ise Beraha H., Vlora O., \u00d6zda\u015f C.’nin kat\u0131ld\u0131klar\u0131 B\u00fcy\u00fck M\u0131s\u0131r M\u00fczesi yar\u0131\u015fmas\u0131n\u0131n tasar\u0131m s\u00fcreci incelenmi\u015f; bu s\u00fcre\u00e7 i\u00e7erisinde tasar\u0131mc\u0131lar\u0131n geli\u015ftirdikleri metodlar ve bu metodlar\u0131n mimari tasar\u0131m s\u00fcrecine nas\u0131l uyguland\u0131klar\u0131 irdelenmi\u015ftir.<\/p>\n\n
This thesis explores the concept of Computer Aided Design through design theory, nature of the design problems and digital media in a design computation context.<\/p>\n\n
CAD technologies evolved a great deal since they were first introduced in the mid 1960’s. During this period, especially nowadays, CAD and digital media are used not only for drafting but also became a design medium itself. This change is naturally a paradigm change for design theory, since, beside the designer’s individual talent and work, the process and methods used for the design play an important role on the shaping of the final product.<\/p>\n\n
With the shift from traditional design media (pen & paper) to the digital media, designers need to have new capabilities to combine with their intuition and creativity in the process. The availability of digital media offered designers new opportunities, new methods differentiating from old traditional methods which enabled them to develop personal design strategies in the design process.<\/p>\n\n
In this context, in the present study, an overview of the design theory is represented. Furthermore, the structure of design problems and the concept of sketching, which has a vital role in traditional design process are also explored.<\/p>\n\n
To form a basis for digitally mediated design, basic constraints of digital media, representation of new forms in computer graphics, the basic geometric transformations used for both analyzing and generating architectural composition are examined in a descriptive manner.<\/p>\n\n
In order to comprehend the essence of the change in design theory, the design computation concepts which form a basis for the change (algorithm, analogies between architecture and language, formal grammars and languages, shape grammars) are scrutinized.<\/p>\n\n
The focus of the last chapter is the design process of the Grand Egyptian Museum, a competition project by Beraha H., Vlora O. and \u00d6zda\u015f C. Here, the methods designers developed and their applications in the process are studied.<\/p>\n\n
Keywords \u2014 design theory, sketch, digital media, representation, computational design<\/p>\n\n
Twenty-two years after it was written, the thesis was cited in a terminology study. Bilge \u00c7a\u011flar Demir\u2019s 2025 article \u201cDijital Medya Kavram\u0131n\u0131n Tematik Perspektiften Analizi\u201d surveys 111 theses registered under the keyword \u201cdigital media\u201d in the Council of Higher Education\u2019s National Thesis Center and identifies this study as the oldest among them. The same survey puts the number of theses that came out of the field of architecture over those twenty-two years at five.<\/p>\n\n
Demir, B. \u00c7. (2025). Dijital Medya Kavram\u0131n\u0131n Tematik Perspektiften Analizi. Avrasya Terim Dergisi<\/em>, 13(2), 67-76. DergiPark<\/a><\/p>\n\n On this thesis and its echo twenty-two years later: Using a Tool for Design, Designing the Tool for Design<\/a><\/p>\n\nFull text<\/h2>\n\n