Investigating the tectonic effects of openings as 'built-things': case of Cavusoglu house

Abstract

Purpose - This paper aims to trace the tectonic effects of openings as Heideggerian built-things. Design/methodology/approach - This study has been organized in two phases. The first phase attempts to set up the theoretical framework through exploring the links between Heidegger's notion of built-thing and contemporary tectonic discourses on dialectics between the values of matheme (construction, technology) and poetics (representation, meaning) to identify the key indicators in tectonic effects of openings. Accordingly, as the term tectonic effects is concerned with feelings and emotions that tectonics may evoke in people, the author searches for the indicators based on the poetic aspects of tectonic values and applies them within the phenomenological method implemented in the second phase of the research to explore the indicators in the designated case of the Cavusoglu house. Findings - The results of this study indicate the significance of ontological nexus between tectonics as poetic revealing and the ability of the built-thing to generate tectonic effects within the embodied experience of dwellers. In fact, an opening can generate ontological tectonic effects in space only if it is brought about through a truthful build-dwell process which responds in a poetic way to the daily-life needs of the dwellers. The tangible examples of this fact are evident in the openings of the Cavusoglu house. Originality/value - The theory of tectonics of openings as a separate built-thing, which is put forward in the present study, is a subject that has not been sufficiently studied so far and has the potential to be developed through further research. In light of this, the theoretical results of this study can contribute to tectonic thinking during the design process.