MİMARLIK AGENDA

Understanding the May 2023 Election Results on the Road to Local Elections / H. Tarık Şengül

The writer focuses on the tension created by the unsustainability of the increasingly centralized political system – the tension between those who do not care about or are willing to overcome everyday life in order to analyze, from an urban point of view, possible scenarios which could occur in the aftermath of local elections.

AGENDA

Towards an Alternative Housing Production / Behiç Ak

Today, housing has turned into a commodity that "makes and loses money and creates a source of hope and expectation" rather than meeting the need for shelter. The author states that the solution to the housing problem lies in removing housing from being a means of speculation and emphasizes the prioritization of social needs.

Effects of Earthquakes on Cultural Assets and Observations on Conservation / Umut Almaç

In the aftermath of the earthquakes in February, the steps to be taken regarding the destruction of cultural assets that carry the tangible traces of the city are of great importance. The author provides information on the damages caused by earthquakes to cultural assets and makes suggestions for more effective protection in the future.

From Disaster to Recovery: Shelter Intervention after Earthquakes / Nil Akdede

Although months have passed since the February 6, 2023 earthquakes centered in Kahramanmaraş, discussions on temporary and permanent shelter solutions remain on the agenda. The author points out that the communication between stakeholders in fieldwork is as important as process management.

EVENT

First Look at METU Urgent Design Studio: What the Paper Log House Teaches / Tuğba Özer, Ömer Faruk Ağırsoy, Gizem Nur Aydemir, Emine İnci Şahin, Gizem Güner

Founded right after the February 6 earthquakes, METU Urgent Design Studio aims to produce practical and long-term solutions for disasters. Focusing on the Paper Log House, developed in collaboration with Shigeru Ban Architects and Voluntary Architects' Network, the authors share excerpts from the design process.

Five Views on Architecture by Five Women / Pınar Uluçay Righelato, Seyit Ermiyagil

Eastern Mediterranean University (EMU) Faculty of Architecture organized a panel titled "5 Women - 5 Architects - 5 Views" and an exhibition titled "5 Women - 5 Designers - 1 Exhibition" for International Women's Day. Authors, society and architecture

the transformative role of women and the empowering aspects of co-production.

TOWARDS THE SECOND CENTURY OF THE REPUBLIC

The Order of the Countryside from "Village Problem" to "Village Cause" in the 100-Year Modernization Struggle of the Republic / Zeynep Eres

In this issue, the author draws attention to the struggle for modernization at the village level and emphasizes that "the fact that these policies, which envisage modernizing the human being together with the environment in which he lives, could not be made widespread during the period, caused the villagers to pile up in the urban periphery before they could take the preliminary steps towards modernization and thus could not integrate with the city".

CULTURAL HERITAGE IN DANGER

Antalya MKE Battery Factory Campus / Hilal Tuğba Örmecioğlu, Aslı Er Akan

In this chapter of Cultural Heritage in Danger, a series which began in our 405th issue, Hilal Tuğba Örmecioğlu and Aslı Er Akan wrote a piece on the Antalya MKE Battery Factory Campus

ARCHITECTURAL CRITICISM

Between Physical and Spiritual Space: Beylikdüzü Fatma Ana Cemevi and Cultural Center / Özlem Erdoğdu Erkaslan

Beylikdüzü Fatma Ana Cemevi and Culture Center "By being a visible transitional space between the Beylikdüzü life valley and the residential settlement area, it brings a new interpretation to the hiddenness of Alevi culture in a social, spatial and structural context, taking into account the 'bringing together' values of the Alevi faith; the architectural program itself by avoiding the usual symbolic representation(s) in worship buildings; its simple, subtle and masterful attitude in the selection and use of materials; and its qualified, rich and unique spatial atmosphere starting from the environment to the worship and social spaces".

HOUSING

Soviet Socialist Mass Housing as a Tool of Social "Optimization": Stalinkas / Ali Devrim Işıkkaya

For the USSR in the 1930s, the construction motivation of the period is defined by the production of mass, cheap and durable buildings. In this context, the Stalinkas, mass housing settlements that became the oversized communist building blocks of socialist urban morphology, stand out as an important part of state policies aimed at categorizing and optimizing society in modern Russia. The author states that the group of buildings is seen "to this day as an inspired, emulated, manifestation of functional perfection, the home of the harmonious and uniformized citizen, the guiding residential architecture of a kind of exemplary life that will always be referred to."

A Critical Evaluation of the Social Impact of Housing Sharing Platforms / Ahmet Gün

Although they were developed to address the shortage of short-term rental supply and the demand for new tourism experiences, they have been instrumental in balancing housing and tourism deficit pressures in the cities where they are used. The author emphasizes that the medium and long-term use of these platforms triggers negative social consequences such as the displacement of long-term local tenants, gentrification and loss of neighborhood values.

URBAN SPACE

Looking at Alternative Spatial Production Practices through "In-betweenness" / Tuba Doğu, Tonguç Akış, Gökçeçiçek Savaşır

Current approaches that are accepted as alternatives to mainstream spatial practices can be questioned through a series of questions: What is the relationship between the crises of capitalism and social and political organizations in space? In particular, how are critical spatial tendencies that seek to respond to the turmoil of the contemporary capitalist order connected to the multifaceted crises of capitalism? Is it possible to act completely independently of the system? In contrast to a disciplinary perspective shaped by dominant architectural discourses, this study is shaped by an examination of contemporary alternative spatial practices from global and local scales, focusing on a critical reading approach to the tendencies and situations mobilized by the ruptures created by capitalism. The authors aim to reveal the critical role of these states of in-betweenness within the neoliberal system by rereading alternative spatial production practices with an analytical perspective through the concept of "in-betweenness".

URBAN DESIGN

The New Route of Design on the Beyşehir Coast: Strategies for Integration with the Urban Inland / Başak Özkıral, Hikmet Metin, Neslihan Serdaroğlu Sağ

In coastal settlements, the main problems related to planning and design are stated as the interruption of the perception of the coast after the first façade, the existence of obstacles in access to the coast, and the presence of inadequate quality and non-place-specific uses in public space designs. The authors make evaluations on the development of design strategies in the context of discussions on strengthening the integration between the coast and the urban interior.

CONTACT

Forest Route between Textures and Layers / Güneş Kara

Denmark-based architecture studio EFFEKT has designed a platform that rises 15 meters above the ground at Hamaren Event Park in Fyresdal, Norway. The author draws attention to the potential layers of the new forest route within Hamaren Event Park.