Visualization of the transition to metamodern: a semiotic analysis of the Esma Sultan architectural project (Istanbul)

The subject of this article is a visual manifestation of the transition to metamodern architecture in the reconstruction of Esma Sultan's palace in Istanbul. Its architectural and design solution was created in the framework of the new urban paradigm of the XXI century. The project solves a whole range of tasks from the preservation of historical heritage to the creation of an attractive commercial real estate facility. The objective of the article is to conduct a semiotic analysis of the Esma Sultan architectural complex which will demonstrate the transition from the paradigm of the urban culture of postmodernism to metamodernism. Esma Sultan's semantic analysis reveals the meanings that remain not articulated in the special literature about this project. The method of historical retrospection is applied to the analysis of the object. This made it possible to assess the general trends in the production of urban space at the early the twenty-first century. A comparison of Esma Sultan's palace to the projects that are close in style and overall design showed the prospect of creating a modern mental image of the city. The authors concluded that the semiotic system of this architectural object is focused on the presentation of a multi-level semantic space. The loft-style palace not only organizes space, but creates a lifestyle with its egocentric hedonistic notes. The article proves that the reconstruction of Esma Sultan declares a new style of life and a type of urban culture in which spatiality becomes an expression of a multi-layered meaning. Rebuilding is not the same as reconstruction because its goal is not to return the past in the image of the building but to “hang” between experiencing the past and its awareness in the present. Thus, the Esma Sultan project became an example of a generalization of paradigm shifts in human perceptions of the 1990s - 2000s and a demonstration of the transition to the sociocultural situation of metamodern. We see how metamodern eliminates the very principle of dichotomy of choice, evaluation and functionality. The technological leap of the beginning of the 21st century, the changing nature of sociocultural practices, the abandonment of the policy of multiculturalism (the practice of social collage) influenced the formation of a new understanding of the problem of meanings manifested through spatiality, contingency and contextuality of any phenomenon.