Grafik Romanın Mimarisi, Mimarlığın Grafik Romanla Anlatımı: Çizgilerle Modern Türkiye Mimarlığı Örneği

Abstract

This study examines the spatiality of graphic novels through the relationships they establish with architecture. Its primary aim is to demonstrate that graphic novels should be understood not merely as hybrid narrative forms combining text and image, but also as architectonic practices with their own spatial logic, structural organization, and modes of circulation. In this context, the study addresses the relationship between graphic novels and architecture along two interrelated axes. The first axis focuses on the internal structure of the graphic novel, examining part–whole relations, page layout, panel organization, tabular modes of reading, and the reader’s movement across the page as fundamental components of its spatial constitution. The second axis explores the representational and narrative potential of architecture within graphic novels, investigating how architectural representational tools relate to page construction and narrative production. The research is conducted within a qualitative framework and establishes a conceptual dialogue between graphic novel theory and architectural theory. Its theoretical foundation is built upon key discussions of the structural and spatial qualities of graphic novels, alongside architectural concepts such as tectonics, architectonics, representation, and experience. Within this framework, the graphic novels Opera’nın Hayaleti and Ankara Palas’ın Merdivenleri, produced as part of the An Illustrated History of Modern Turkish Architecture Project, are analyzed through structural and content-based methods. The study demonstrates that graphic novels are not merely narratives that represent space, but also forms that embody spatial and structural systems in their very constitution. Page layout, modes of articulation between panels, and reading circulation emerge as key elements in the production of narrative. Furthermore, architecture is shown to function not only as a represented subject within graphic novels, but also as an active structural component that participates in the construction of narrative. In this respect, the dissertation offers a space- and structure-oriented contribution to graphic novel theory and proposes a new framework for discussing the relationship between architectural history, architectural representation, and narrative.