 Reyhan Akat (Correspondence)  rgedikli@gmail.com  + This article is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 Author(s) retain the copyright of this article. Publication rights with Alkhaer Publications. Published at: http://www.ijsciences.com/pub/issue/2017-08/ DOI: 10.18483/ijSci.1402; Online ISSN: 2305-3925; Print ISSN: 2410-4477 Gestalt Theory and Gestalt Principles in Religious Structures Reyhan (Gedikli) Akat 1 , Birgül Çakıroğlu 2 1 Dr., Ministry of Environment and Urban Planning, Presidency for Strategy Development, Ankara, Turkey 2 Dr., Department of Construction and Technical Works, Karadeniz Technical University, 61080, Trabzon, Turkey Abstract: In this study, basic design concepts related to Gestalt principles were examined. In the first phase of the work, the principles that Gestalt theory developed in the field of visual perception are introduced and the basic design principles are explained by various abstract examples. In the second phase, gestalt principles have been tested with concrete examples of the various existing implementations. As a study area; In Turkey, various examples of religious architectural buildings were selected. These types of structures; Early and classical mosque, medrese and tomb examples. As a result of the analysis of the religious architecture samples taken into consideration; The types of structures are expressed in basic design principles, which are related to guttal theory. After all; The importance of implementing design concepts related to gestalt principles in the construction has been emphasized. Keywords: Gestalt Principles, Basic Design Concepts, Religious Structure 1. INTRODUCTION In America, a group of German psychologists were conducting important research on the human perception system and process in the wake of behaviorism. Max Wertheimer [1880-1967], Wolfgang Köhler [1887-1967] and Kurt Koffka [1886-1941] did not share the views of structuralism and behavioral approaches. These psychologists; They divided the psychological processes and opposed the way of judging the whole. I mean, according to them; The whole is bigger than the pieces that bring it to the square. In German, the Gestalt word is used as a whole, in the sense of completeness, a certain form or pattern [Özbay, 1999]. In other words; Biological, or psychological structure, sequence, or pattern that includes a functional integrity that can not be obtained from the sum of its parts. The experimental work of Köhler [1929], which explains the relation between mental schemes and environmental order, laid the foundations for Gestalt Theories of Perception. According to this, the objects that make up the environment are gathered together in a certain order and the perception is explained by the mental schemes formed by the elements of this order. The simplest, but most fundamental, principle of perceptual regulation is that the forms perceived as 'form against the floor' have visual activity; The shape is the shape-ground relation defined by the expression 'the meaning of the background forming the back surface'. The figure-to-ground relation, with reversible concepts, gives them meaning to be perceived within a certain order of randomly assembled items. The original focus of the Gestalt theory is not behavior, but human perception and other knowledge processes. It is a theory that is very interested in visual perception. The main concept of the theory is the 'Gestalt' form-figure concept. The form is defined as 'any piece of whole or whole separated [Graves, 1951; Gürer, 1990]. Gestaltians have drawn attention to the whole of the spiritual events and to the organization. According to them, experiences are all complex and complex. These are physical, environmental and intrinsic, the fact that many factors are organized in certain forms. So all that is formed is something more than the sum of the inward ones, and it has its own particular qualities. For example, Helson and Fehrer; They have reached various definitions of Gestalt. These;  The shape of a perceived whole  Some factors within a dominant group  Sum of defined conditions of a spouse, moment or behavior model  Physical structures  Biological structures  Logical structures  Psychological structures  Objectives