CITY 444

Course Code & Number
CITY 444
Course Title
Space, Form, and Conceptual Design Explorations
Level
BS
Credit Hours/ ECTS Credits
(3+0+0) 3 TEDU Credits, 5 ECTS Credits
Year of Study:
Senior
Semester:
Spring
Type of Course:
Departmental Elective
Mode of Delivery:
Face-to-face
Language of Instruction:
English
Pre-requisite / Co-requisite:
Pre-requisites: NONE
Co-requisites: NONE
Catalog Description
Framing advanced form-based approaches for understanding, analyzing, and shaping the built environment. Exploring conceptual and research-based design methods. Examining spatial relationships, morphological patterns, typologies, and contextual conditions across multiple scales - from architectural settings to broader urban contexts. Investigating the interrelations between space, form, type, pattern, and process through conceptual explorations, iterative design, creative processes, and experimentation. Incorporating the study of precedent, avant-garde design proposals, and advanced representational techniques to expand analytical and visual repertoires. Emphasizing design thinking, innovative reasoning, and generative inquiry to investigate the constituent elements of urban form and to articulate their representation with precision.
Course Objectives

The course aims to cultivate an advanced capacity for interpreting, analyzing, and shaping spatial and form-based conditions in the built environment. It seeks to develop students’ proficiency in conceptual and generative design thinking, enabling them to examine spatial relationships, components of urban form, typologies, and morphological patterns with intellectual and creative insight. Through analytical inquiry, representational investigation, and exploratory design processes, the course encourages students to critically engage with contemporary debates. The course prepares students to approach advanced studio work with a refined understanding of how ideas are generated, transformed, and communicated through space, form, and design operations. 

Course Learning Outcomes

Upon  the successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

1.Analyze spatial and form-based qualities of the built environment.

2.Conduct typo-morphological and precedent-based investigations to understand how urban form, spatial logics, and contextual conditions interact. 

3.Apply design thinking, conceptual reasoning, and exploratory methods to generate innovative spatial and form-based ideas grounded in coherent relationships between concept, form, and space.

4.Experiment with conceptual models, iterative sketches, diagramming techniques, and creative design processes as tools for spatial inquiry and form-making,

5.Produce clear and compelling visual representations using 2D/3D diagrams, analytical drawings, digital models, mapping, and narrative visualization to articulate design intentions and spatial strategies,

6.Synthesize analytical insights and creative experimentation into advanced design proposals, demonstrating conceptual clarity, spatial intelligence, and representational fluency appropriate for architectural and planning portfolios.

Course Coordinator:
Dr. Cansu Canaran