Family photos and architectural representation: Using photo-collage sketchbook to understand behaviour patterns in family apartment buildings

Seda Meral; Berrak Karaca Şalgamcıoğlu; Mehmet Emin Şalgamcıoğlu

doi:10.47818/DRArch.2023.v4i3099

Family photos and architectural representation: Using photo-collage sketchbook to understand behaviour patterns in family apartment buildings

Authors

Seda Meral Short Bio Istanbul Technical University

Seda Meral (BSc., Dokuz Eylul Uni., MSc., Yıldız Tech. Uni.) is an Architect and a PhD Candidate at Architectural Design Programme, Graduate School of ITU. Her current research areas are Architectural Design and Morphology, Housing, and Domestic Space Organisation.
Berrak Karaca Şalgamcıoğlu Short Bio Istanbul University

Berrak Karaca Şalgamcıoğlu holds Mechanical Engineering and Industrial Product Design BSc degrees and Mechanical Engineering MSc degree from Istanbul Technical University (ITU). She received her PhD degree in Industrial Product Design from ITU. She is currently an Assistant Professor and head of department at Istanbul University, Department of Industrial Design. Her research interests include inclusive design, design research methods, ageing and ethnography.
Mehmet Emin Şalgamcıoğlu Short Bio Istanbul Technical University

Mehmet Emin Şalgamcıoğlu (BSc. MSc. PhD., Istanbul Tech. Uni.) is an Architect and Associate Professor of Architectural Design in Istanbul Technical University. He was a visiting scholar in University of Michigan in 2010 and worked on several professional design projects previously. His current research areas are Architectural Design and Morphology, Space Syntax, Gentrification, Housing, and Domestic Space Organisation. He also has international and national architectural design competition awards as well as published design critics, book chapters, conference papers, and journal articles.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.47818/DRArch.2023.v4i3099

Keywords:

Architectural research, family apartment buildings, family photos, qualitative inquiry, visual ethnography

Abstract

This article presents a three-step process of collecting, deconstructing and reconstructing family photos in ethnographic research investigating the sociocultural aspects of behaviour patterns in family apartment buildings. The first author conducted the study for her Ph.D. thesis in architectural design, supervised by the second and third authors. As an architect, the first author created a photo collage sketchbook, combining various representational techniques of her profession with family photographs. While observing the family apartment building and trying to understand the “gecekondu” where the participants lived before the family apartment building, the researcher realised that the interviews were insufficient, and this problem forced the use of a photo collage sketchbook. To synthesise ethnographic knowledge, research started with obtaining family photos. After extracting and grouping, the deconstruction process began. Deconstructed layers are then reconstructed by using various architectural representation techniques and text. This photo collage sketchbook has helped us understand various aspects of the family apartment buildings related to architecture and culture. While doing this, the sketchbook prepared with visual contents combined with short notes represents the data collecting, organising, analysing, interpretation, knowledge-making, and presentation stages. In working with a photo collage sketchbook, obtaining family photographs and overlapping the photographs and interviews’ narratives appear challenging. Therefore, collective interviews have been a critical move to compare and verify the memories recalled by the participants. While interviewing, it is vital to show the photos to every participant from a particular age group because they contribute differently to the photo components because of the place experience. So, this study is not about a set of instructions or tools but experiences about the process or approach to constructing ethnographic knowledge.

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Published

2023-12-17

How to Cite

Meral, S., Karaca Şalgamcıoğlu, B., & Şalgamcıoğlu, M. E. (2023). Family photos and architectural representation: Using photo-collage sketchbook to understand behaviour patterns in family apartment buildings. Journal of Design for Resilience in Architecture and Planning, 4(3), 300–316. https://doi.org/10.47818/DRArch.2023.v4i3099