Evaluating the Public Space Transformation Through Virtual Museum Practices

Abstract

With the Covid-19 pandemic, people's lives, working and living conditions, social relations are completely transformed, while social relations and public spaces are also changing. Before the pandemic, spaces such as parks, gardens, museums, cinemas and theaters were defined as public spaces, while publicity required people to be together physically. After the pandemic, communication between people shifts from physical space to virtual space, due to the limitation of the use of social space, and the concept of public space is reinterpreted. With the pandemic period, platforms are created where cities can be visited virtually, online access to events such as theaters, concerts and festivals is provided, and virtual visits are offered to museums all over the world. In this study, the concept of changing publicity and transformations in public space are evaluated through museums. A survey is conducted to reveal the differences between the physical museum and the virtual museum experience. Through the survey, four different types of experiences (social, cognitive, introspective and object experiences) are questioned, revealing the perception of space and how users interpret the change in public space. Examining the transformation of public space through museums allows for new inferences about people's perception and experience of space. The essence of a public space detached from the physical space is lost and the concept of publicity becomes shallower.