A memory-centred reading of space: The Case of Taksim Square

Urban space is a concept in constant flux, woven with numerous qualitative and quantitative layers such as physical environment, social life, culture, politics and economy. It harbours both formal mathematical systems and cultural semantic systems and codes along with intricate relationships at the intersection of these layers. In this regard, the study positions memory as a research object that brings together all these layers of urban space through the process of construction-destruction and remembering-forgetting. It examines a space reading model for investigating these codes and relationships within 'sensed visible' and 'remembered hidden' layers. This endeavour is pursued through research conducted on Taksim Square, one of Istanbul's most vibrant public spaces, which has been embraced and internalized by the people as a memory space witnessing numerous events, ceremonies, and demonstrations spanning military, political, civil, and social dimensions. The study aims to decipher the traces, codes, and relationships of memory continuously shaped by visible and hidden layers in urban space. The study considers human, urban space, and written culture perspectives as data sources and recommends analysing them within networks of spatial syntax, phenomenological, and hermeneutic methods. Space syntax tools are used to investigate how memory traces form relationships with changing spatial configurations, as well as how temporal-spatial routines are generated by various behavioural patterns. Simultaneously, on-site observations and structured interviews delve into the imagery and semantic knowledge of underlying memories. Thus, the study comprehensively addresses the relationships between semantic and syntactic data across concrete-abstract and objective-subjective realities, leveraging the potential arising from the simultaneous application of these methods.