The contradiction between architecture&rsquo / s &ldquo / autonomy&rdquo / , its existence as an entity with its own &ldquo / disciplinary specificity&rdquo / - and its social &ldquo / engagement&rdquo / , its involvement in culture, ideology and economy, has been the subject of numerous discussions in architectural discourse, initially in Europe and later in North America. It is argued in this thesis that although &ldquo / autonomy&rdquo / and &ldquo / engagement&rdquo / seem contradictory to each other, architecture&rsquo / s &ldquo / critical status&rdquo / is rooted in this contradiction. Autonomy is regarded as one of the essential sides of architecture&rsquo / s dual position. This suggests that the in-between, or in Stanford Anderson&rsquo / s terms, &ldquo / quasi-autonomous&rdquo / status of architecture can only be sustained through its existence as an entity that has a certain degree of autonomy. Autonomy is an agent for architectural discourse to isolate architecture from its involvement in the external reality and increase awareness within the discipline by concentrating on its specific knowledge. Autonomy aids architecture to pretend to be &ldquo / detached&rdquo / while in reality it is &ldquo / engaged&rdquo / . To focus on the autonomous dimension of architecture, to search for architecture&rsquo / s own intrinsic qualities, helps to produce knowledge within the discipline and provides a &ldquo / critical distance&rdquo / for architecture to resist any &ldquo / external authority&rdquo / . Thus this thesis intends to explore the potentials of the conceptualization and problematization of &ldquo / autonomy&rdquo / in architecture and its employment as a critical tool by architectural discourse to re-assess architectural practice. The private house projects designed by Boran Ekinci in Turkey are exemplified and utilized for the re-conceptualization of the term and enable the transfer of the discourse related with autonomy to the local context where the issue hardly gained a popularity. By doing so, both the appreciation of autonomy in general and reappreciation of architecture in Turkey are aimed.

The thesis project the Descendants of Ancestors explores the eccentric and strangely figurative qualities of Claude Nicolas Ledoux’s (1736-1806) architectural oeuvre.  The project focuses on Ledoux’s engravings and through careful reading (and deliberate mis-reading), transforms them into architectural characters. I regard these characters as Descendants of Ledoux, belonging to the same bloodline but unmistakably shaped by their conception in contemporary times. / Examensprojektet “the Descendants of Ancestors” undersöker de excentriska och figurala kvaliteterna i arkitekten Claude Nicolas Ledoux (1736-1806) verk. Projektet fokuserar på Ledoux gravyrer och översätter dem genom en noggrann läsning till arkitektoniska karaktärer. Jag ser dessa karaktärer som ättlingar till Ledoux, tillhörande samma släktträd men otvetydigt formade av deras tillkomst i samtiden