Özet:

Abstract The most prominent intersection of literature and architecture is ‘space’. Although this creates a significant similarity, literature and architecture have different practices, methods, and representations related to space. Especially the issue of representation has importance as it is a questioned theme within the scope of architecture. Textual construction is tentative, flexible, and narrative-focused while being reconstructed in every reading experience. But architectural construction is fixed, rigid, and visually dominated. Against the dominance of visually in traditional architectural drawing, textual representation sometimes has the potential to reveal what architectural representation cannot express with drawings. For example, situations that difficult to express with architectural representation methods such as experience, atmosphere, and narrative can be explained with textual representation. This study asks how textual representations make visible the experiential and narrative aspects of space. In addition, the study aims to remember the forms of representation of space beyond formal and mathematical representations and to include sensitivity in textual construction into the design process. In this context, Michel Butor’s The Description of San Marco (1963) and George Perec’s An Attempt at Exhausting a Place in Paris (1975) were selected for analysis. The reason for choosing these two authors is that they produce experimental and reader[1]centered works. The first criterion in the selection of the works is that space is the backbone of the narrative. The second criterion is that ‘spatial experience and narrative’ are at the forefront. The last criterion is that the place in the story is actual, not fictional. The content analysis method was used in the examination of the selected works. Textual representation of space was examined in two categories as content (meaning) and form (language / use of literary elements). Textual representation strategies were determined. The issue of architectural representation has been reconsidered through these identified textual representation strategies. The first work to be examined is in The Description of San Marco, Butor focuses on St Mark’s Basilica in Venice. The narrative starts from the square and moves into the basilica. The chapters of the book also follow this order [1. Facade, 2.Entrance, 3. Interior, 4.Baptistery, 5.Chapels, and Additional Buildings]. While conveying the experience of the basilica, Butor also includes the speeches and voices of different subjects. Thus, it creates a kind of ‘collage’ with other elements infiltrating the text. This collage is made visible by the use of italics and different line widths. Butor focuses on the subject, subject-space, and the signs of space in his book The Description of San Marco. In the textual representation of all these, Butor formally separates these layers also connects them with narrative. Thus, the narration can read both holistically and fragmentally. Each fragment remains a description of San Marco. Just like the multidimensional structure of spatial experience. Butor’s book focuses on the experience and narrative in space at the content level. In this work, ‘stratification’ can be considered as a strategy for textual representation. The second work examined within the scope of the study is Perec’s book called An Attempt at Exhausting a Place in Paris (1975). Perec describes the square by sitting in different cafes overlooking Saint Sulpice Square for three days (18-19-20 October 1974). The narrative focuses on everyday life and the ordinary. Perec describes it as infra-ordinary. He concerns with the users and actions in the space rather than the formal description of the place. Perec observes the St. Sulpice Square. His observation methods are classification of spatial elements (which are person, object, actions…) and determination of differences and sameness. People, vehicles, clothing, symbols, signs, acts, etc. These strategies, which may seem very simple, lead to the essence and meaning of the space. Even if Perec looks at the same square for three days, this turns into an inexhaustible experience. The contrary to the title of the book. As a result of the analysis of these two different works, the concept of ‘movement’ and ‘time’ comes to the forefront in a textual representation. However, it is not easy to represent movement and time in traditional architectural representations. In addition, although these two works are far from an architectural concern, they offer a spatial analysis. Butor presents a simultaneous phenomenological experience of space. Perec presents the observation of the same place at different times and a glance at the ordinary. Both methods can be defined as strategies for spatial analysis in the discipline of architecture. As a result, it is possible to use writing as a comprehension strategy to understand space in the discipline of architecture. For this reason, literature can contribute to our understanding of architecture. The two works examined in this study are only one of these readings. Analyzing different texts/textual representations will lead to the emergence of new approaches.

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