MİMARLIK AGENDA

Upcoming Local Elections / Eyüp Muhcu

Nowadays, as the economic crisis has accelerated with the upcoming local elections of March 31, Muhcu evaluates the agenda from the eyes of the city and citizens and argues that the accumulated problems of local governments have been erased from the collective memory due to severe crisis conditions. The author discusses the local election agenda on concepts such as democratic decentralization, on-site administration and the implementation of human rights policies in cities.

COMMEMORATION

The “Uncle” of his Friends: Ersin Arısoy / Mehmet Hamuroğlu

Ersin Arısoy, who graduated in 1964 from METU, passed away on October 2, 2017. Registered to the Istanbul Metropolitan Branch with an id no 2506, the architect and the academician Arısoy was one of the founders of METU SFK. Mehmet Hamuroğlu has written his obituary.

Between the Scandinavian Coldness and Mexican Poverty: Ziya Tanalı / Celal Abdi Güzer

Graduated from METU in 1965 and registered to the Ankara Branch with an id no 2930, Ziya Tanalı passed away on December 9, 2018. Tanalı was a member of the board of directors and vice president of the Association of Turkish Consulting Engineers and Architects and also served as the president of the Association of Architects 1927. He was awarded with a Grand Award (Sinan Prize) in 2008. Abdi Güzer has written his obituary.

Works are the Reflection of the Person not the Words: Bozkurt Güvenç / Cengiz Bektaş

Graduated from MIT in 1951, and registered to the Ankara Branch with an id no 1748; the founder of the Anthropology Department of Hacettepe University; the awardee of the Japan Foundation Fellowship, “Japonya Doğan Güneş Nişanı”, Wilson Fellow Smithsonian (US) and the Distinguished Service Award from Ministry of Culture Service; architect, anthropologist, critic and writer Bozkurt Güvenç passed away on December 10, 2018. Cengiz Bektaş has written his obituary.

Afife Batur's Conception of Culture as a Reconciliation Tool between the Past and Present / Ersen Gürsel

Graduated from Istanbul Technical University (ITU) in 1958, and registered to the Istanbul Metropolitan Branch with an id no 1129, Afife Batur, a faculty member at ITU, passed away on December 16, 2018. Batur was the president of TMMOB Chamber of Architects Istanbul Büyükkent Branch between the years of 1998-2000. In 2000, she was awarded with "Achievement Award in Contribution to Architecture" at the Chamber of Architects National Architecture Awards. Ersen Gürsel has written her obituary.

AGENDA

Göbekli Tepe: UNESCO World Heritage Site and Changing Approaches / Lee Clare, Moritz Kinzel, Devrim Sönmez, Celal Uludağ

Göbekli Tepe, where excavation works continued for a short period of time, was included in the World Heritage List by UNESCO in 2018. We announced the news from the cover of our 402th issue (July-August 2018) and as we promised, the present issue looks closely at the history of Göbekli Tepe through the eyes of the excavation team.

CULTURAL HERITAGE IN DANGER

Open Call to Protect Our Cultural Heritage

In recent years, the threatening events against cultural assets and sites have encouraged

TMMOB Chamber of Architects Protection and Development of Cultural Heritage

Committee to prepare a study report on "Turkey’s Endangered Cultural Heritage."  This section aims to strengthen awareness about the sensitive nature of the architectural heritage by introducing examples such as unregistered rural and industrial structures, or public buildings from Republican and Modern era that were once registered as heritage monuments but then lost their status due to various reasons.

EVENT

After the Interview with Mario Carpo: The Training of the Architect in the Second Digital Age / Bilge Bal, Bahar Avanoğlu

In the interview with Mario Carpo, after his talk titled “The Second Digital Turn: Design in The Age of Artificial Intelligence,” authors have focused on the relationship between architectural education and modern-day technology. The article, with reference to this interview, opens a discussion about all stages of design starting from sketches and collages, until digital interfaces and construction.

The Candidacy Processes of Gaziantep Yesemek and Osmaniye Karatepe-Aslantaş to World Heritage List have Accelerated

With the “Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage” prepared in 1972, UNESCO aims at internationally recognizing and preserving the cultural assets and unique natural assets that constitute important turning points in the world cultural history. Eighteen cultural and natural assets from Turkey was included in the List. In this context, the authors evaluate nomination processes for Gaziantep Yesemek and Osmaniye Karatepe Aslantaş archaeological sites, which were initiated by two activities in November with the efforts of local institutions and organizations. 

FILE: ARCHITECTURE IN THE CONDITION OF THE CRISIS

Reconsidering the Cities, Local Governments and Democracy during Crisis and Elections / H. Tarık Şengül

Seeking Hope in Darkness! / Abdurrahman Çekim

The Crises of Architectural Education in the Time of Crises / Burcu Serdar Köknar, Ozan Avcı, Başak Eren, Beril Sarısakal

The ‘crisis’, which has lasted for months now and affected everyone, is deeply concerned with architects as the construction sector is an important part of the economy. This statement is also valid for the Journal as the printing costs have tripled due the increased costs of imported paper. Following the article written by Haydar Karabey in the Agenda section of the previous issue, we have prepared a more detailed file on this issue. This file titled “Architecture in the Condition of the Crisis” includes various insightful evaluations regarding the local governments, architectural profession-construction sites, and architectural education. The editorial board is open to those who would like to write an assessment of what has happened to the world of architecture which has been affected by the crisis.

H. Tarık Şengül discusses local governments in times of upcoming local elections, in an environment where the central authority is strengthened and deprived of the local authorities, or where the central authority makes all decisions without consulting the local administrations. Noting that the crisis has an urban character, Şengül states that the strategies and alternatives to be created against the crisis should consider this unique dimension.

Abdurrahman Çekim discusses the difficulties encountered in the implementation of architectural practice by referring to the country's urbanization policies. Under the title of “architecture profession-construction site,” the author mentions the increase in construction budgets following the increasing costs of construction materials, the unpaid architects and closing architectural firms and thus unemployed colleagues. Stating that production is mainly defined through quantities, Çekim demonstrates how established firms based on norms and qualities were replaced with the new and inexperienced real estate companies.

Burcu Serdar Köknar, Ozan Avcı, Başak Eren and Beril Sarısakal focuses on education in this environment, where the construction sector is shrinking, while the number of architecture schools and their quota is increasing. The authors argue that professors can use the condition of the crisis as a triggering strategy. The article presents possible crisis conditions in architectural education by questioning the relations between the environment, instructors and students.

ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN

An Architect Producing on the Relationship between Space and Learning: “Herman Hertzberger” / Selda Al Şensoy

Educational structures, which are the spaces where the concept of learning transforms into action, both contribute to and shape the learning processes as much as they effect the educational activities carried out in the facilities. By looking at the morphological features of two projects from earliest and later periods of Herman Hertzberger, the author examines Hertzberger’s design criteria.

PRESERVATION / REVITALISATION

Ancient Theater Restoration Experiences of Local Authorities From Spain to İzmir / Zeynep Aktüre

Excavations in the Izmir Ancient Theater on the northern slope of Izmir Kadifekale started with the demolition of the buildings in the area in 2013. Since then, the theater has presented an interesting case since nothing is clear about the preservation of the remains or about the restoration project that will be implemented when the excavations end. In order to provide a guide for the works to be performed at the theater, the author analyses four examples from Spain and demonstrates the processes with the aim of conservation and revitalization of these theaters of different sizes and preservation levels.

The Meeting of Bath Culture with Modern Architecture: Keçiborlu and Uluborlu Turkish Baths / Ayşe Betül Gökarslan, M. Elif Çelebi Karakök

Despite not being a very important ingredient of our daily lives, public baths still retain their appeal in the tourism sector, and often appear as historical masonry structures. The article analyses two concrete bath structures and questions the architectural qualities of the structures with a descriptive language, and highlights the lack of works related to concrete baths. 

URBAN DESIGN

Gentrification through Culture: Brick Lane / Ceren Hamiloğlu

Yet another concept that is closely related to “urban transformation” is unfortunately

“gentrification.” The author examines the Brick Lane area in London, which has been

transformed by materializing elements related to its historicity and culture, and states that the

area has become a part of the consumption process that is a part of the region’s tourism capital.

HOUSING

Changing Meanings of Social Housing: Tozkoparan / Şebnem Şoher, İpek Akpınar

Tozkoparan Quarter, one of the original examples of social housing designed as part of the  urban planning strategies against the growing population in Turkey, has become the target of urban transformation with the changing housing policy discourse. Designated as “slum prevention zone,” for the first time in the city’s history, it provides a discussion platform for the authors who aims to contribute to the creation of a perspective on the traces left by the socio-economic transformations.

REPUBLICAN ARCHITECTURE

Traces of Giulio Mongeri in Anatolia: Ziraat Bank Branch Buildings / F. Duygu Saban

Giulio Mongeri, one of the professors of Sanayi-i Nefise Mektebi, played an influential role in the architectural understanding of the next generation of architects and also built some symbolic buildings that had an impact on the design of the cities in the early 1900s. The author discusses the Ziraat Bank branch buildings designed by Mongeri and examines the impact of the 1st National Architecture movement on projects by revealing main differences and similarities.

CONTACT

The New Square Definition: “The Urban Carpet” / Melis Acar

The works of COBE, a group of architects of Copenhagen origin, stand out in the area of multiscalar design. The Israels Plads Square project, a successful reflection of the team's design approach, creates a physical contact with the city by manipulating the site’s strategic importance.