AGENDA

Turkish Industrial Archeology is Disappearing

Industrial archeology is a newly engendered research field in Turkey. There are but only few worthy examples, where industrial buildings and settlements are reintroduced to the daily use. The real problem lies in not realizing the real value of the few examples of this kind of structures. The recent example is the longstanding attempt to demolish the first Gas Factory of Ankara, for the value of its land and various speculations over that land. Being one of the few important examples of the city’s industrial heritage, the Gas Factory of Ankara was demolished in June 2006 by municipality orders. The destruction of the factory is only a single consequence of many operations and future plans that have been ongoing especially in Ankara.

The article of İmamoğlu, “Bad News for Ankara: Republican Buildings under Threat” reflects on the various aspects of other similar, yet deliberate attacks in effacing the ‘urban memory’ of the capital. In addition, the article of Köksal, “The Future of Industrial Heritage in the Course of Urban Transformation Projects”, focuses on the preservation of the industrial heritage through suggesting possible principles and strategies that can be applied for the industrial settlements as well as for other built structures in general. The industrial buildings are separated from the other built artifacts through their special and particular spatiality and this should be taken as a guiding fact when they will be open to re-use. In further issues the subject will be analyzed more in detail.

(ANTI-) PRESERVATION (LESS)

Afterthoughts of a Demolishment: Balıkesir Kervansaray Hotel / Yasemin İnce Güney

Balıkesir Kervansaray Hotel, which was erected after an architectural competition of 1950s, was demolished and became history just after approximately 50 years, this time by directives of the municipality. The author while highlighting the significance of the building within the history of the city also emphasizes the very need for a public consciousness towards the architecture of the city. She further stresses possible active roles of architects and urban planners in generating such awareness towards the urban artifacts.

FILE:

Contemporary Mosque Architecture

The theme of the file aspires from the contemporary mosques that are either works of architects or non-architects. There are over 75 thousand mosques in Turkey where the population is 70 million. If analyzed in detail, more than half of this population consists of women, children and people with other religions, unbelievers which in total make 20-30 users for a single mosque. As the statistics show the mosque production is pretty much beyond the general demand, the symbolic function of the mosque overshadows the whole process. When the symbolic role became a dominant fact in mosques, there emerges the notion of architectural signification, meaning and authenticity. However one should question how many mosques are produced by being aware of the role of architecture in reaching symbolic significance. On the other hand worship places have always sheltered various other functions and missions in many different cultures and periods all through the history. The planning of mosques together with other commerce units is not a novel condition if one recalls the historical examples which generally house units such as “bedesten” or “arasta”. The vague compositional and aesthetical arrangements however can be taken as novel aspects. The articles within the file try to open the issue to discussion through questioning what can be the new functions of contemporary mosques and can we find new paths to enrich the argument at hand.

Kemal Kutgün Eyüpgiller’s article “20th Century Turkish Mosque Architecture” provides a detailed tour to the recent examples of mosque architecture being practiced in Turkey while questioning the intention of contemporariness in general. He further points out the main challenges that 20th century mosques face such as the selection of the land, public need, the accompanied functions, the use of technique and its control, historicism and finally the style and symbolic ideals, together with the research being done within this field and national, international competitions. It is to him that all these architectural decisions and the circumstances that they are practiced in should be opened up to discussion together in order reach to a level of discussing and producing unique and authentic examples in mosque architecture.

In the interview that is made by Müge Cengizkan, Danyal Çiper focuses on issues such as form, structure, function, the use of materials and ornament in mosque architecture. As a practicing architect he reveals the actual challenges from merely architectural problems to problems of a larger scale, such as planning laws, politics, public conception and social customs through his experiences. Having designed numerous mosques, Çiper’s answers not only provide an insight to the public ideals that lay behind mosque production but also picture what is mostly concealed; the architectural ideals.

Gürhan Tümer on the other hand with his article “From Hideous Mosques to Others - Mea Architectura Mea Culpa” approaches to the subject from a different point of view, in his words from ‘Mea Architecture Mea Culpa’ point of view. It is to him that among the architecturally significant examples there are even more ‘hideous’, exceptionally ugly and repulsive mosques around, which are commonly believed as the worst examples of our culture. However, yet Tümer defines them as the ‘beauty of the beasts’ that not only are entertaining to analyze but also carry a certain reality in themselves if analyzed from another point of view. When he carries a similar view point over the architecturally significant and commonly cited mosques he provides interesting details that lay in the foundations of most of the examples. From the use of various financial sources such as mermaids, jars full of gold and wasted food, to different yet interesting names that are attached to mosques and authentic stories lying behind in each Tümer’s article opens a different window through which one can observe the different aspects of mosque architecture.

ARCHITECT

My Friend Hamdi Şensoy… / Orhan Şahinler

The Grand Prize (Sinan Award) of this year’s 10th Cycle of Turkish Architecture Awards and Exhibition was given to the architect Hamdi Şensoy. Being a pioneer figure both in his academic and professional career, his life portrays not only a sum of his architectural adventures but also many interesting details of a generation that he was part. In the words of his close friend and college Orhan Şahinler, the role of Hamdi Şensoy in the history of Turkish architecture is re-figured.

COMPETITION

Celebration of Cities - II: “An Idea for the City”

In 2006, the International Union of Architects (UIA) launched a call to the world community of professionals and students of architecture inviting them to participate in an urban democracy process for the improvement of living conditions in cities through the second Celebration of Cities Competition. The aim was to develop ideas capable of engendering positive transformations that would make cities more attractive, more welcoming, more convivial and that would improve mobility in and towards cities. The evaluation of projects had been handled in two stages, first at national and second at international level. After the national selection the international jury met in Vancouver on 15th June 2006 to declare the winners. The grand prize (Ex-Aequo) of the professional category was shared by two projects; Anastasia Caterina’s Project for Venice, Italy and Yang Sung Goo’s Project for Seongnam-Si, Republic of Korea. In the student category the Grand Prize was given to the project of Valentina Araya for Santiago, Chile. Apart from the grand prizes the international jury has also given 5 regional prizes in the professional category and 4 regional prizes in the student category. In the national stage, on the other hand, the jury selected Ercan Akkaş’s project for the professional category and the projects of Cem Kozar and İsmet Güngör for student category.

Bursa Kızyakup City Park Architectural and Urban Design Competition

The rapid increase in the population of the city of Bursa, especially after 1960s, brought along a physical growth that instead of decentralizing, congested the city center with the pervasion of various high rise settlements. As a consequence the area defined by the competition became one of the undesirable parts within the city lacking socio-cultural, economic and physical urban virtues. The competition sought for urban projects that can integrate the area with the rest of the city. The jury met in June, and after the evaluation of projects they have given 3 awards, 5 mentions and 5 purchase awards in total. The first prize was given to the “Garden City” project of Evren Başbuğ, İnanç Eray and Ceyhun Baskın for its experimental approach that presents a certain adaptability and flexibility to the region. The second prize was given to the project of Servet Gümüş and Günay Solak, where the third prize was given to Zeki Şerifoğlu and Kaan Kılıç.

PRESERVATION - REVITALISATION

The Role of Cartographic Discipline in the Preservation of Historical Cultural Settlements / Ali Can Demirkesen, Hülya Demir

Preservation of historical, cultural heritage needs a multidisciplinary research strategy. The article draws a general frame of the role that cartographic discipline and practice can carry in the field of preservation by means of how numerical, statistical data is being collected and implemented over geographical information system. The authors further suggest that measures obtained from periodic statistical surveys shouldn’t be used merely as preliminary drafts of preservation studies but they should be given emphasis also for immediate interference upon the deformations in the buildings that take place over time.

LEGISLATIVE ARRANGEMENTS

Coast Law is Changing: New Approaches over the Notions of “Conservation”, “Public Benefit” and “Legitimacy” / Emre Madran

Recently the change of the Coastline Law dating 1990 in order to adapt to emerging novel conditions, has come to the agenda of the Ministry of Public Works and Settlement. As a consequence the draft law prepared by the General Directorate of Technical Research and Implementation Department has been publicly announced. Emre Madran outlines the main issues that are covered within the draft and further he points its negative and unclear aspects for the sake of presenting the issue to wider public by means of opening it up to further discussions.

MEA ARCHITECTURA MEA CULPA

A Brief Conversation over Mosque Architecture

In a conversation between a child-architect and an adult-architect, the child asks what the building with thorns is for. Upon learning that it is a mosque in Mali his curiosity prolongs as it doesn’t bear any similarity with the mosques he had seen before, so he continues to question how can this happen?