Examination of Prestigious Mass-Housing Identity via The Slogans: Cases in Izmir, Turkey

Abstract

Purpose The paper aims to make a critical examination of the current prestigious mass-housing projects through the promotional slogans to understand the relationships between the promotional and architectural strategies. Design/Methodology/Approach In the research, the archive-based surveys were conducted by utilizing the framework of the case study method. The data were collected from the websites and electronic catalogues of the cases and analysed comparatively to reveal the messages given by the promotions and manifested in the architectural formations. Findings The study makes categorizations for the slogans and architectural services of the cases, and proposes that the promotional and architectural identities of the projects refer to a template that provides the sale guarantee, and therefore, cannot be broken easily to present the alternative living manners. Research Limitations/Implications The study is limited with the 20 similar-scale projects with independent sections of more than 50 households, addressing to the high-income level with the prestigious or luxurious qualities, and built, used, or under construction in the period covering 2015-2021, in Izmir city-centre and peripheries. Social/Practical Implications In social respect, the findings point out the common interdisciplinary genes creating the templates of the consumer society by manifesting that the high price is related to the services provided within the housing settlement but not the quality of architectural solutions. Originality/Value The paper tries to uncover the possible effects of the slogans in shaping the mass-housing identity for the high-income level, and reveal the close relationship between the consumer society and promotion of architecture, which results in selling housing projects at high prices with the same promotional and architectural templates.