rehabimed symposium, 1th, 2007

THE GRAMMATICAL AND SYNTACTICAL ANALYSIS OF SPATIAL ORGANISATION IN AYVALIK HOUSES

Authors: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Deniz ERINSEL ONDER,Res. Assist. Emine KOSEOGLU

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Deniz Erinsel Onder has been worked in Yıldız Technical University, Department of Architecture since 1987. She is interested in Architectural Design: vernacular architecture, housing, tourism buildings, spaces syntax.

Res. Assist. Emine Koseoglu is a PhD student. She studied on spatial perception in her Master Thesis. Her major research fields are environment-behavior relations, space syntax, and tourist psychology.

abstract:

In the architecture world, there has always been an evaluation of and a comparison between works of architecture and the constructions built with traditional methods. Although samples of vernacular architecture are not considered as works of architecture, they have been meeting the sheltering needs of people for centuries. The importance and value of these buildings have been handed on to the architecture world and societies through the efforts of institutions such as Aga Khan, Ciam and Europa Nostra, researchers like Rapoport as well as architects like Geoffrey Bawa, Sedat Hakkı Eldem and Hassan Fathy.

These products, which have sometimes been of secondary consideration, meet the needs of the users in accordance with the conditions of the period as well as the region. They not only make a thorough evaluation of all the characteristics of the region, basically climate and materials, but also reflect the knowledge, experience and traditions handed on.When constructions in a certain region and of a certain typology are analyzed, a number of spatial relationships emerge. However, the principles that determine the spatial order are less in number and these principles bring forth “genotypes”.

The aim of this paper is to analyze the spatial order of the housing stock in Ayvalık district, located in the western coast of Turkey, in terms of form and syntax, and determine the similarities and differences between these constructions.

The analysis will be carried out with the space syntax and shape grammar methods. The gamma diagrams used in space syntax help us to read both the visual and the numerical order of the spatial organization. Moreover, this method also informs us of the social logic of the space. On the other hand, shape grammar is a rule-based design system that generates shape compositions and can be used for different purposes. In this study, it is used as a tool supporting the comprehension of the characteristics of formal order through mathematical definitions. The two-sided analysis in question makes us thoroughly acquire logical and systematic information on the spatial order of traditional houses.

In conclusion, the study reemphasizes the importance of vernacular architecture by reading the spatial order of housing samples in Ayvalık with two internationally recognized methods, thus establishing design data for future practices in the district.

Full paper is published in:Proceedings of 1st Euro-Mediterranean Regional Conference Traditional Mediterranean Architecture Present and Future, ISBN: 84-87104-79-7, 12-15 July 2007, Barcelona, Spain.