Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: The conception of space as a measurable, divisible, and representable extension constitutes one of the principal epistemological parallels that can be established between modern architectural thought and Descartes’ understanding of method. This study discusses the fragmented representation of space and time in architecture through René Descartes’ method, Cartesian dualism, and conception of extension. It aims to evaluate the relationship between the Cartesian pursuit of certainty and the geometric, measurable, and objectifying instruments of architectural representation without asserting a direct historical line of influence. In this context, Descartes’ methodical doubt, the distinction between thinking and extended substance, the Cartesian coordinate system, and the conceptual relationship of these notions to modern forms of spatial representation are critically examined. The research combines philosophical conceptual analysis, critical reading of architectural theory, and conceptual comparison. It argues that Cartesian modes of representation render space measurable and communicable through relations among points, lines, surfaces, and coordinates, while accounting only partially for bodily experience, sensation, memory, and subject-space interaction. Consequently, Cartesian representation is considered a powerful analytical instrument for architecture, but insufficient on its own to explain the multisensory, lived, temporal, and relational dimensions of space.
Source: DergiPark (Istanbul University)
Author: Sürdem, Şule Sinem
Institution: Gümüşhane University
Language: Turkish
Subfield: Visual Arts and Performing Arts
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7203564342