MİMARLIK AGENDA

Accessibility, a Possibility, No Access / Osman Tutal

Accessibility, as a fundamental right, besides being a tool for living and participating to life, is a basic condition enabling independent living and involvement to all segments of social life. The author draws attention to the allocated time, 7 years, which later was extended with additional 3 years, for ensuring accessibility to existing buildings in 2005, has actually ended on July 1st, 2015. He states that the time has come to contemplate as educators, professional organisations, practitioners, controllers, politicians, users or even as lawyers.

COMMEMORATION

A Farewell to Leyla Baydar / Esin Boyacıoğlu

Being graduated from Fine Arts Academy, Department of Architecture in 1945, as a student of Sedad Hakkı Eldem, Leyla Baydar, continued her architectural practice in Ankara in 1960s after moving from İstanbul, and took part in the academic staff of the first private collages of Ankara, Zafer and Yükseliş Architecture and Engineering Academies. Leyla Baydar, being an instructor and educator who has fought against the stereotypes in relating art, architectural history and culture, has passed away on June 30, 2015. Her obituary is written by Esin Boyacıoğlu.

AGENDA

39th UNESCO World Heritage Committee Meeting: A Platform for Dialog, Achievements and Accomplishments / Nevra Ertürk

39th UNESCO World Heritage Committee Meeting was held in Bonn, Germany, from 28 June to 8 July 2015. The meeting hosted over 2000 delegates from 191 state parties that have accepted 1972 UNESCO World Heritage Agreement and Turkey, with 90 delegates, was one of the countries with highest number of participants to the meeting.

A New Coating for Nuclear Leak in Chernobyl / Rüksan Tuna

Despite the intervening 29 years Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant is still in the agenda and the fact that the region still carries radiation hazard is an important lesson for us. Today, to what extend the building of the additional coating cover, which is an ongoing project that Ukraine cannot encounter the costs alone, will be able to prevent the problems is still a big question mark. Meanwhile building of a nuclear power plant in Turkey continues at full speed.

 

FILE: DISASTER. WHAT THEN?

16 years have passed from 17 August 1999 earthquake and still people who are busy with making regulations-legal adjustments; realising and controlling these regulations seem to have agreed to maintain their silence until the next disaster. By discussing the notion of “disaster” from a broader perspective that not only covers earthquakes, the file focuses on disasters such as wars, floods, landslides and possible recovery strategies aftermath of such serious destruction. In this aim, the file includes articles from Bülend Tuna; “Waiting the Earthquake in Turkey...Facing with Disasters”, Akın Atauz; “Ideas on Planning of Kobane”, Yasemin Altınsoy; “Common Perspectives in Post-Disaster Housing” and Meltem Vatan; “Preservation of Cultural Heritage after Nepal Earthquake”. Tuna argues the need to update what we understand from the term earthquake. Atauz draws the outlines of what can be done in the re-planning process of Kobane and of possible planning strategies. Atasoy, focuses on the two distinct approaches in post-disaster housing, one performed by the initiatives of disaster-victims and the other carried out through bidding to engineering firms. In the final article Vatan underlines the positive effects of traditions in the interventions aftermath of Nepal earthquake.

EVENTS

Architecture Adventuring “Energy for Life”: Milano Expo Fair 2015 / Zeynep Uludağ

Milano Expo Fair, providing incredibly impressive and inspiring sense of experience for days, has opened its doors to visitors on May 1st, 2015. The theme of the fair, which can be visited till 31st October, is announced as “Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life”. In the scope of the theme, the Expo is one of the biggest events on food and nutrition, hosting around 145 participating countries, many international organisations and NGOs. The author evaluates the Turkish pavilion together with some other pavilions.

COMMEMORATION PROGRAMME: EGLI

A “Small, Unpretentious, but rather Functional” House: Fuat Bulca House / Işıl Çokuğraş, C. İrem Gençer

Fuat Bulca House, with a rather short lifespan, approximately 20 years, is an important example for being one of the few Ernst Egli’s house designs, which couldn't attain a place in architectural literature due to missing information on its location. The authors with a desire to attain original documents on the house, have visited the daughter of Fuat Bulca, who had a chance to live in the house in the past, present unknown information on the building, which was used by the Bulca family only for three years. The house is regarded as a prominent example in residential examples of the period, due to the rational indoor organisation and the quality of geometric compositions of the facades.

PROFESSIONAL ETHICS

Opening a Hole in Water: Education of Common Sense, Conscience and Ethics in Architectural Design Studio / Ipek Yürekli

Focusing on questions rather than answers, ethical values and architectural education are two fields leading to ambiguous and open-ended definitions, where what is good/bad and right/wrong are not very clear. The author stating that education of ethics in architectural design studios is a volatile effort similar to opening a hole in water, questions different methods to make the process more effective and enduring.

COMPETITION

Lüleburgaz Yıldızları Women's Academy

The competition announced by the Municipality of Lüleburgaz aims to achieve projects for an academy that can be used by women- children and families, through establishing a centre, which can offer a range of educational and social facilities, consultancy and guidance services for solving social problems, can host the organisation of professional-cultural and artistic courses to ensure active participation of women to social and cultural life, and which can support studies on drawing women away from violence. Among 48 projects evaluated in the scope of Lüleburgaz Yıldızları Women’s Academy Competition, 3 awards and 4 honorable mention awards were distributed.

Municipality of Söke Master Plan- Based Urban Renewal Design Ideas Competition

Organised by the Municipality of Söke, design ideas competition aimed for achieving projects that propose the renewal of the current urban fabric by supporting the growth of Söke as a service centre in future. The competition directed the development of existing city centre and the areas surrounding the city route of Söke stream to act as a central development corridor. Among 13 projects submitted to the competition, 3 equivalent awards and 2 purchase awards were distributed.

Municipality of Maltepe Djemevi and Cultural Centre

Organised by the Municipality of Maltepe in order to achieve projects for a djemevi that can reflect the contemporary spirit of Alevism and be an inspiration offering answers to a general need in this typology. The competition also aimed the foundation of a building tradition, once existed but lost in time, for this particular space of worship. 55 projects were evaluated and 3 awards, 5 equivalent honourable mention awards were distributed.

FROM RURAL / CITY

Green Village Ağlasun in the Foot of Taurus Mountains / Coşku Kocabıyık

The establishment of the initial settlements in Ağlasun, a region of Burdur, with a population of 4000 inhabitants, was realised by the Seljuk Turks that have arrived to the place after 13th century. Sagalassos, an ancient settlement located in the foothills of Ağlasun Mountains, which are the extensions of Toros Mountains, in 7 km north of Ağlasun, has always been an important part of everyday life for people living in Ağlasus. The author, while drawing attention to the modest examples of traditional residential architecture of Anatolia and the traces of architectural elements that once belonged to the ancient city and now have become part of the houses in Ağlasun, also emphasises the natural habitat as one of the remarkable features of the region.

ARCHITECTURE AND LITERATURE

Urban Space and People in Yaşar Kemal’s Novel, The Sea-Crossed Fisherman / Nurten Özdemir, Rabia Akgül, Can Hazal Açıkgöz

In the novels of Yaşar Kemal geography occupies a special place, and besides being narrated only as a place, was often regarded as a character, written in a poetic manner. His stories and novels often take place in villages and towns around Çukurova and Toros Mountains, within settings consisting of outdoor and wide spaces, rather than of enclosed and tight. Yaşar Kemal only after the mid-1970s started to get out of Çukurova region, subjecting people living in the city and by the sea. The article focuses on the relations set between urban space and people in the novel of Kemal, The Sea-Crossed Fisherman, which narrates the corruption and alienation in every way of a city together with its geography.

BUILDING TECHNOLOGY AND MATERIALS

Acclaiming the Roof Spaces/ Gamze Özkaptan Alptekin, Esin Kasapoğlu

Roof spaces are architectural elements with formal and functional potentials that can be utilised to achieve further impact on both indoor and outdoor spaces. The authors pointing out the significance of roof spaces in offering many advantages for natural lighting and ventilation argue the need for acclaiming the roof spaces for achieving spatial quality thus increasing the spatial efficiency in the face of high land and production costs.

HOUSING

Housing Problems of Romanians: A Forced Choice / Duygu Gökce

Romanians encounter discrimination in every society they live in, regardless of geography, as a result of their differences and are among the group of people facing serious housing problems due to limited resources. The author, states that the housing preferences of Romanians, which rest on both necessity and volunteering, resulted a vicious circle. She further argues the accessibility to the concept of “adequate housing and shelter” for achieving sustainable and habitable environments for the Romanians in the frame of housing rights.

ARCHITECTURAL EDUCATION

The Concept of “Genius Loci” and Relations between Natural and Built Environment in Architectural Education / Kezban Ayça Alangoya

The cities that preserve their relations with “place” have turned today into facades rising in enclosed bell jars without any contact with neither context nor place. The authors state the need to raise awareness towards organic relations between space and place and the concept of “spirit of place”, an outcome of this interaction, with architectural education. They further note that candidate architects, who can develop a sense towards the spirit of space, put more effort to the experience of space in relation to context in their designs.

CONTACT

Architecture, an Urban Re-Share / Mete Keskin

All current events and the emerging society, give the signals of the change of public space once more. The Wrap as a design idea, originated by John Lin and Olivier Ottevaere distinguishes itself from the conventional methods and processes with its structure, the impact on public space, finance and method of construction. The author evaluates the project, which is designed as a meeting point and a panoramic platform in a Muslim region with ethnic segregation.