Anatolian Regional Modernism A Proposal for Regional Residential Prototypes for Black Sea, Cappadocia and Aegea
Loading...
Date
2021-01-26
Authors
Ozdemir, Ilhan
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Waterloo
Abstract
Located at the convergence point of European and Asian continents, Anatolia has
been a melting pot of cultures, peoples, and architecture. Traveling through the
land, one can witness a wide spectrum of history on display, from pre-historic
Gobeklitepe to the legendary city of Troy, grid-planned Miletus to affluent Roman
capital of Ephesus, early monastic Christian settlements to the apex of Islamic
architecture in works of Sinan.
Despite this wealth of culture or perhaps partially as a result of it, Anatolia suffers
a form of confusion around cultural identity. Exacerbated by the necessary but
equally rapid and strict modernization of the young Turkish Republic of the 1920s;
disruptions and gaps in the continuity of Anatolian culture are all too evident,
especially in the built environment. It could be argued that the well-meaning but
sternly applied modernism of this era led to a questionable level of success, as
rural masses moved into their minimalist apartments without necessarily adapting
the lifestyle changes that come with it. The discord between the maintained
cultural life and the daily life proposed by the built environment comes into
high contrast when apartment dwellers would take over the pavement to air
wool blankets or enclose modern balconies to dry spices and pickle vegetables.
This clash is observed and encapsulated by Paul Ricoeur in History and Truth as
follows:
“The phenomenon of universalization, while being an advancement of
mankind, at the same time constitutes a sort of subtle destruction, not only of
traditional cultures, which might not be an irreparable wrong, but also of nucleus
on the basis of which we interpret life, what I shall call in advance the ethical and
mythical nucleus of mankind.”
In this context, Anatolian Regional Modernism is a study of Anatolian culture,
architectural typologies and tectonics, from archeological and vernacular evidence
to anchoring academic work of Sedad Hakki Eldem. This research guides site
visits to three Anatolian regions, Black Sea, Cappadocia and Aegea. The academic
research and first-hand experience are then translated into architectural form
in three residential prototype proposals for the three regions. The goal of these
proposals is to suggest a methodology that shares a common architectural logic
based on unique Anatolian characteristics while optimizing each prototype for
their local climate, materials and culture in a “Critical Regionalist” fashion.
Description
Keywords
Anatolia, architecture, residential, regionalism, modernism, Black Sea, Cappadocia, Aegean, critical regionalism, vernacular, vernacularism, konak, kosk, villa, modernization, Turkey, typology, archetype, local, glocal, contextualism, design, Giresun, Bodrum, Didim, Urgup