An Examination of Popular Culture through the Facades of 21st-Century University Educational Buildings

Universities function not merely as centres of scientific inquiry and education, but also as monumental buildings that actively catalyse urban development and shape the urban identity of their host cities. Recently, a salient trend has emerged in Turkey in which historical and vernacular architectural elements are being replicated on the facades of university buildings through a superficial ‘copy-paste' approach, closely mirroring the architectural practices observed in public administrative buildings. This study seeks to critically examine the facades of educational buildings—which proliferated significantly after 2000 under the state's