Teaching/Learning Strategies Through Art: Theatre and Basic Design Education

The purpose of this study is to investigate the theatre as an architecture learning strategy in Basic Design Education. Hence, the study examines the art as a tool in Basic Design Education through the concept of the “body”, which is the common point of Architecture and Theatre discipline. Human being has used different ways to transfer feelings and thoughts. Theater is one of them. Theatre is staged feelings and thoughts through with space and body, by different topics and event patterns. The body becomes physical reflection of the soul and space accompanies to it. As Merleau-Ponty (2005) explains: “The human is not a body and a soul, it is a soul with a body. We able to access our outside of every asset if and only can access through our body; our outside of every asset becomes a mixture of soul and body with assumes the characteristics of human.” In this way, the soul and space are integrated. Body movements draw boundaries of space and also space draws the boundaries of the body. Body and space become complement and provision to each other. Architectural design activities are founded on “body and space” which are two basic elements. In the context of body and space relationship; a different training method was tested together with performance art that is “theater” and building art that is “architecture” over Basic Design Education. Transferring of the human body to a designed structure has been revealed by direct and (or) indirect way.