Vol. 12 No. 3 (2015): Space Syntax and Architectural Design
Articles

Tracing a biennial layout: Experiencing an exhibition layout through the syntactic analysis of Antrepo No. 3 at the 2013 Istanbul Biennial

Mehmet Emin Şalgamcıoğlu
Istanbul Technical University, Istanbul, Turkey
Fitnat Cimşit Koş
Department of Architecture, Faculty of Architecture, Beykent University, Istanbul, Turkey
Ervin Garip
Interior Design and Environmental Design Department, Faculty of Art and Design, Istanbul Kültür University, Istanbul, Turkey

Published 2015-11-01

Keywords

  • Building morphology,
  • Exhibition architecture,
  • Space syntax,
  • Spatial layout,
  • Syntactic analysis

How to Cite

Emin Şalgamcıoğlu, M., Cimşit Koş, F., & Garip, E. (2015). Tracing a biennial layout: Experiencing an exhibition layout through the syntactic analysis of Antrepo No. 3 at the 2013 Istanbul Biennial. A|Z ITU JOURNAL OF THE FACULTY OF ARCHITECTURE, 12(3), 55 - 70. Retrieved from https://www.az.itu.edu.tr/index.php/jfa/article/view/397

Abstract

The design of an exhibition gallery and its curatorial intension for either a temporary exhibition or a permanent museum installation requires understanding how its morphology influences the use of space, as well as the spatial experiences of visitors. The morphology of a gallery in terms of its shape and configuration may affect the display of the artwork, visitors’ activities and their movement through the space. This paper examines the layout of Antrepo No. 3, the main exhibition gallery of the 2013 Istanbul Biennial. This research explores: 1) how museum design influences integrated or segregated locations, as well as visitors’ use of the space during their visits; 2) how spatial layouts influence visitors’ explorations in gallery spaces; 3) which spaces are more or less visited; and 4) what the predominate path is depending on the number of visitors during a specific period of time. Answers to these questions are crucial for this study to understand the impact of the morphology of space on museum visitors. In this sense, syntactic correlations are key to grasping the idea of morphology and visitor experience relations in a curated space in exhibition design. For this investigation, gate counts within the exhibition space and snapshots showing the number of people and their patterns of interaction with the exhibition are correlated with syntactic parameters. Visitors’ spatial experiences and the use of the overall layout depending on the number of visitors during a certain period of time in a specific convex space are taken into account.