Anthropocentrism in Architectural Theory

Anthropocentrism has shaped architectural theory for many years by placing human needs, comfort, and functionality at its center. It has treated nature as a passive resource to be controlled. However, today, ecological challenges such as the climate crisis, biodiversity loss, and the depletion of natural resources have revealed the limitations of this human-centered approach. This study aims to examine how anthropocentric thinking has influenced architectural theory, particularly through the concepts of comfort and environmental control in modern architecture, and to discuss alternative perspectives based on ecocentrism, planetary health, and regenerative design. Adopting a qualitative and theoretical research design, the study is based on a literature review conducted through the Web of Science and Google Scholar databases and proceeds in four stages: the analysis of anthropocentric thinking in architectural theory, the examination of ecocentric and planetary perspectives, the interpretive analysis of Villa Savoye and the Tugendhat House as illustrative cases reflecting the anthropocentric understanding of architecture, and the synthesis of these findings.