Spatial Narratives and Architectural Interventions: Analysing the Impact of Internal Partition Design on Visitor Experience at the Istanbul Archaeological Museum

doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-7398314/v1

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Spatial Narratives and Architectural Interventions: Analysing the Impact of Internal Partition Design on Visitor Experience at the Istanbul Archaeological Museum

https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7398314/v1

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This study investigates the spatial and perceptual effects of a contemporary freestanding partition introduced into the upper gallery of the Istanbul Archaeological Museum, a landmark of late Ottoman neoclassical architecture. While the original design by Alexandre Vallaury emphasized axial clarity and openness, recent curatorial interventions have sought greater flexibility through reversible interior elements. Employing a mixed-methods framework, the research integrates space syntax analysis (visibility graph analysis via DepthmapX), statistical testing, and onsite behavioral observation. The findings demonstrate that the partition significantly reduced visual connectivity and fragmented spatial coherence, redirecting visitor circulation into sequential loops and generating new perceptual thresholds. Observations confirmed that visitors not only adapted their movement patterns but also engaged with the wall as part of the exhibition, underscoring its role as an active spatial agent rather than a neutral insertion. The study highlights how seemingly modest design interventions can substantially reshape embodied experience, spatial legibility, and curatorial narrative in heritage contexts. It argues for a critical balance between curatorial innovation and architectural integrity and demonstrates the value of space syntax as a tool for assessing design decisions within historically significant museum environments.

Space syntax

Museum architecture

Visitor experience

Architectural interventions

Spatial configuration

1.1 Historical Background of the Museum

The main building of the Istanbul Archaeological Museum, inaugurated in 1891, is one of the earliest purpose-designed museum structures in the Ottoman Empire. Conceived by the French-Ottoman architect Alexandre Vallaury, the building embodies the reformist spirit of the late Ottoman period, where the desire for modern institutions intersected with architectural expressions of authority and cultural ambition (Bozdoğan, 2001; Shaw, 2003). Vallaury’s design adopts a distinctly neoclassical vocabulary: a symmetrical layout crowned with a temple-front façade and Corinthian columns, deliberately evoking the grandeur of classical antiquity. These choices were not purely aesthetic, they reflected a broader impulse to establish cultural legitimacy and signal the Empire’s engagement with global museological and educational norms (Özyar, 2013).

Inside, the spatial organization continues this logic. The galleries follow a strong axial alignment, supported by high ceilings and evenly spaced bays that offer both curatorial clarity and visual rhythm. While clerestory lighting is not a central feature, daylight is filtered through upper-level windows and skylights, a strategy aligned with late 19th-century European museum trends that valued natural illumination not only for practical display needs but also for the affective quality it brought to the visitor experience (Kalaycıoğlu, 2015). In that sense, Vallaury’s architecture holds a certain balance: it is formal yet functional, monumental yet sensitive to the nuances of how people move through and perceive space.

1.2 Recent Renovation and Updates

Since the early 2000s, the Istanbul Archaeological Museum has undergone a series of phased restorations aimed at preserving its historical integrity while adapting the institution to contemporary standards of conservation and display. A major renovation project initiated in 2011 focused on structural reinforcement, environmental conditioning, and the reorganization of collections to improve both accessibility and interpretive clarity (Kalaycıoğlu, 2015; Özyar, 2013). As of 2023, many galleries, particularly in the main building, have reopened following these updates. Notable improvements include the development of upgraded lighting systems, interactive display technologies, and revised exhibition layouts. Among the more subtle yet consequential changes is the introduction of flexible interior elements such as partial-height partitions, allowing thematic zoning without altering the historic fabric permanently.

While certain sections remain closed for ongoing seismic retrofitting and conservation work, the museum's transformation reflects a broader trend within Turkish museology: integrating international curatorial practices into heritage settings while maintaining architectural and cultural continuity (ICOMOS Turkey, 2022). However, these interventions are not spatially neutral. One such partition, inserted into an upper gallery, plays a pivotal role in reconfiguring the embodied experience of the museum.

Following Merleau-Ponty’s (1945) phenomenology, spatial understanding emerges through bodily perception and movement, not detached cognition. The partition interrupts what he might call the “lived continuity” of space, disrupting the fluidity of experience. As Pallasmaa (2005) argues, architectural intimacy relies on visual and haptic rhythm; the partition, by contrast, fractures that rhythm, introducing spatial hesitation.

Using Edward Hall’s (1966) proxemics, the partition also creates new spatial territories and thresholds. When Vallaury’s original design encouraged openness and clarity, the partition introduced pauses, detours, and redirections. These shifts are not merely spatial, they are effective. Visitors observed interacting with the partition often show both curiosity and detachment, indicating a disruption in spatial cohesion. This aligns with Böhme’s (1993) idea of atmosphere as an affective spatial condition shaped by the arrangement and tension of architectural elements.

From a Foucauldian perspective, museums are disciplinary spaces that shape knowledge and behavior. A partition is therefore not a neutral insertion; it reorganizes movement, prioritizes certain narratives, and influences perception. Through the lens of Latour’s (2005) actor-network theory, the partition may be understood as a nonhuman agent that participates in meaning-making.

This spatial intervention raises broader ethical questions: How do we balance curatorial innovation with the preservation of spatial legibility? How can new spatial scripts be introduced without undermining the coherence of heritage architecture?

Ultimately, architecture is not a passive container but an active co-narrator in the museum experience. The Istanbul Archaeological Museum exemplifies this, with its original emphasis on coherence, axial procession, and neoclassical monumentality. However, contemporary museology increasingly relies on spatial mediators, partitions, technologies, and zoning devices to respond to evolving interpretive needs.

This research investigates the spatial and perceptual effects of a single freestanding partition via space syntax analysis. By modelling visual connectivity and tracking visitor behavior, this study explores how even modest architectural changes can alter the embodied logic of space. It positions museum design as a field in which movement, visibility, and meaning are constantly negotiated.

1.3 The Architectural Intervention: Description of the contemporary design element (the partition/wall).

The gallery under study, situated on the upper floor of the Istanbul Archaeological Museum (see Fig. 1) and reached through a sequence of transitional spaces, has undergone a subtle yet significant curatorial transformation through the introduction of a contemporary freestanding partition. This partition is a thick, linear element that does not reach the ceiling and remains structurally independent from adjacent walls ( see Fig. 2). Positioned longitudinally, it bisects the gallery into two distinct spatial zones. Physically, the partition is characterized by its substantial texture and material presence, which contrast with the refined surfaces and open axial layout of the original interior.

Functionally, it serves multiple purposes: it blocks direct sightlines between the two sides of the gallery, thereby interrupting visual continuity and encouraging a more segmented visitor experience; it supports the display of a linear arrangement of artifacts, likely curated to represent a specific historical period or thematic sequence; and it offers partial environmental control by shielding sensitive objects from the direct natural light that enters through the clerestory windows above.

This research adopts a mixed-methods framework that merges computational spatial analysis with qualitative observation and philosophical reflection to explore how contemporary architectural intervention, a freestanding partition wall, has reshaped the spatial experience within a historically significant museum environment. The methodology is grounded in both empirical modelling and interpretive insight, allowing for a nuanced understanding of how spatial form influences perception, behavior, and meaning.

To evaluate the spatial implications of the intervention, a visibility graph analysis (VGA) was conducted via DepthmapX software ( see Fig. 3). This method allowed for the generation of visual connectivity maps of the gallery space before and after the insertion of the partition. By analysing the intervisibility between points in the plan, the VGA revealed how the partition impacted spatial coherence, localized connectivity, and the formation of perceptual zones. These graphical outputs enabled the identification of areas where visibility was disrupted or concentrated, offering a quantitative basis for assessing spatial legibility and potential movement paths.

To determine the statistical significance of these changes, a Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed rank test was applied to 935 paired data points to compare VGA values from the pre- and postintervention configurations. This nonparametric test provided robust evidence of transformation by highlighting meaningful differences in connectivity levels. Additionally, a Spearman correlation coefficient was calculated to explore the relational strength between the two datasets, revealing not only the degree of change but also the direction and consistency of that shift.

In addition to spatial modelling, the study incorporated site-based documentation and observational analysis to interpret how visitors interacted with the altered gallery space. Field visits were conducted during regular public hours, during which photographs were taken and informal behavioral observations were made. These sessions focused particularly on the embodied and behavioral responses of visitors, as they navigated around the partition. Attention was given to their movement patterns, pauses, gestures, and interactions with both the wall and surrounding displays. This layer of analysis provides empirical insight into how architectural insertion influences wayfinding, attention, and spatial curiosity.

Through this integrated methodology, the research bridges spatial syntax and human behavior to offer a comprehensive account of how design interventions affect not only the physical configuration of space but also the lived and sensory experiences of those who inhabit it.

This study employed a paired comparison of spatial connectivity in a secondary upper-floor gallery of the Istanbul Archaeological Museum via DepthmapX-generated axial and visibility analyses. The intervention in question involved the insertion of a freestanding partition wall within the open gallery layout. Although this wall neither reaches the ceiling nor attaches to adjacent structural elements, it serves as a curatorial tool to segment space and reorient visitor flow.

The quantitative evaluation was based on the connectivity values derived from visibility graph analysis (VGA), which compared configurations with and without the partition wall. A Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed rank test was conducted on 935 corresponding data points from both conditions to determine the statistical significance of the differences observed.

The analysis yielded a P value < 0.0001, indicating a highly significant difference in connectivity values between the two spatial configurations. The median difference was 291 units, revealing a substantial reduction in connectivity following the introduction of the partition. This suggests that the partition significantly restricts intervisibility within the gallery.

Furthermore, the Spearman correlation coefficient (rs =−0.1228, P < 0.0001) indicated a weak but statistically significant negative correlation between the paired data. This result reinforces the notion that the insertion of the wall alters the spatial logic of the gallery, diminishing the predictability of visual relationships across space.

Visually, the VGA maps illustrate this transformation: areas of high connectivity (depicted in red) become more localized and fragmented after the intervention, particularly in the central longitudinal axis of the gallery. In the preintervention map, a continuous corridor of high visual integration runs along the spine of the gallery, supporting linear movement and extensive visibility. In contrast, the postintervention map shows a disrupted field, with zones of high connectivity becoming more concentrated and isolated.

The dot plot ( see Fig. 4) complements this finding by showing a clear shift in connectivity distributions: values without the wall are consistently higher and more clustered around the upper range, whereas those with the wall show a broader spread and lower central tendency.

These quantitative patterns were mirrored in visitor behavior observed onsite. Despite being a freestanding and nonstructural element, the partition exerted a strong organizational influence on movement. Visitors entering the gallery were immediately confronted by the wall’s broad frontal presence, which visually and physically invited them to choose a directional path, either right or left. Most chose to explore one side first, often spending a significant amount of time there before circumnavigating the partition to reach the opposite side. This looped circulation suggests that the wall not only interrupted visual flow but also imposed a temporal rhythm on the visit, encouraging a segmented, almost sequential, exploration of space.

Furthermore, the partition itself became a site of interaction. On the one hand, it held display cases that contributed to its curatorial function, whereas its material texture, marked by protruding stones or tactile features, attracted physical engagement. Several visitors were observed touching or pointing at these features, and some even photographed the wall as if it were part of the exhibition itself. This perceptual ambiguity reinforces its spatial agency: despite being an intervention, the wall was interpreted by users as integral to the gallery's narrative.

The wall also modulated the light environment. By obstructing some of the natural light from the clerestory windows, it created a dimmer atmosphere in its immediate vicinity, enhancing the contrast and visibility of artificial lighting directed at the displays. Without such modulation, the interplay between natural and artificial light might have compromised the legibility of certain exhibits. In this sense, the partition also played a subtle climatic and atmospheric role, adjusting both illumination and spatial mood.

These findings demonstrate that even nonstructural, freestanding design interventions in historic museum spaces can substantially reconfigure spatial perception and visitor movement. While beneficial from a curatorial standpoint, facilitating thematic zoning and interpretive layering, the spatial implications of such partitions must be critically assessed, particularly in heritage contexts where architectural legibility and coherence are integral to the visitor experience. This study underscores the value of space syntax methods in evaluating and guiding such design decisions.

While the partition enhances curatorial flexibility, allowing for the creation of localized interpretive zones, it also transforms the spatial logic of the gallery. The original design emphasized axial clarity, openness, and ceremonial procession through space; the insertion of this modern element, although reversible and noninvasive, reorients movement and redefines the visitor’s perceptual and navigational relationship with the room. This interplay between old and new individuals raises important questions about how contemporary museological interventions affect embodied experience in heritage settings, not through radical alterations but through subtle spatial reconfigurations that engage with both narrative and sensory dimensions.

This research has shown that even minimal interventions, when situated in historically and spatially rich contexts, can substantially affect perception, movement, and meaning. Through space syntax modelling, the study reveals that the freestanding wall not only modifies visibility and accessibility but also alters the embodied narrative of the space.

The museum becomes a site where spatial continuity, curatorial intent, and visitor agency are dynamically negotiated. Architects and curators must therefore engage with design not only as a function or aesthetics but also as a phenomenological and behavioral act.

Thus, design within heritage contexts must move beyond visual or functional optimization. It must recognize architecture as an ethical and effective medium, where every wall, void, and threshold has implications for how history is accessed, felt, and lived.

Funding

This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Author Contribution

S.Gh. performed all aspects of the research, including conceptualization, methodology, analysis, writing, and figure preparation.

Acknowledgement

This research was conducted as part of the course Special Topics in Architectural Design I (MTS621E), PhD Program, Spring 2024–2025, at Istanbul Technical University, under the guidance of Prof. Mehmet Amin.

Data Availability

Data is provided within the supplementary information files

Limitations

The interpretive analysis of the partition’s intended purpose and design rationale is based on informed speculation rather than direct confirmation. While the analysis draws on spatial logic and a curatorial context, the absence of official design statements limits certainty regarding the original design intentions.

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Hall ET (1966) The hidden dimension. Doubleday
ICOMOS Turkey (2022) Heritage at risk: Istanbul Archaeological Museum and seismic retrofitting. ICOMOS Bull 18(2):112–120
Kalaycıoğlu S (2015) Museums and memory politics in Turkey: The Istanbul Archaeological Museum and national narratives. Int J Herit Stud 21(7):643–658. https://doi.org/10.1080/13527258.2014.983658
Latour B (2005) Reassembling the social: An introduction to actor-network-theory. Oxford University Press
Merleau-Ponty M (1945) Phenomenology of perception (C. Smith, Trans). Routledge. (Original work published in French)
Özyar A (2013) From display to dialogue: The changing role of museums in Turkey. Museum Int 65(1–4):84–93. https://doi.org/10.1111/muse.12020
Pallasmaa J (2005) The eyes of the skin: Architecture and the senses, 2nd edn. Wiley
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No competing interests reported.

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You are reading this latest preprint version

Spatial Narratives and Architectural Interventions: Analysing the Impact of Internal Partition Design on Visitor Experience at the Istanbul Archaeological Museum

Status:

Version 1

Abstract

Figures

1 Introduction

1.1 Historical Background of the Museum

1.2 Recent Renovation and Updates

1.3 The Architectural Intervention: Description of the contemporary design element (the partition/wall).

2. Methodology

3 Results and Interpretation

4 Conclusion

Declarations

Funding

Author Contribution

Acknowledgement

Data Availability

Limitations

References

Additional Declarations

Supplementary Files

Status:

Version 1