CIP A 2003 XIX th International Symposium, 30 September - 04 October, 2003, Antalya, Turkey
67
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all of the
architectural elements of the street facades were recorded and
evaluated.
In courtyard facade typology three groups were
determined according to the spaces reflected towards the
courtyard. In addition to that storey height, location of the
stair, the quality and the number of windows and the
existence of fanis takasi (a niche containing a small statue on
the exterior facade), ku§ takasi (a top window), decorated
stone blocks were taken into consideration.
User’s Profile:
Social questionnaires were applied to the half of the
dwellings in the traditional houses. According to those
questionnaires 57 % of the inhabitants come from the center
of Antakya, 36 % from nearby villages or suburbs and 6 %
migrate from other cities. 53 % of the inhabitants are Sunni
Muslim, 13 % Hanefi Muslim, 7 % Aleuid Muslim, 5 % $afi
Muslim, 10 % Orthodox Christian and 1 % Catholic
Christian.
In order to define the use density of the houses
space/number of inhabitants ratio was investigated and 1
space/2 users were evaluated as optimum density.
Accordingly it is defined that most of the buildings in the
area are used under their capacity whereas 7 buildings are
used over their capacity.
The monthly income is 0-100 million for 13 % of the
inhabitants. The inhabitants with a monthly income of 100-
250 million form 40 % of the area. In 9 dwellings the
monthly income is between 500-750 million turkish liras and
in 2 buildings over 750 million. 60 % of the inhabitants in the
area are satisfied with their houses. The rest mentions that
they want to move to a completely new house or another
house in the same quarter.
51 % of the inhabitants are land owners. 10 % of the
rest use the houses without paying a rent. The rent prices in
the area range between 0-100 million. 2 dwellings pay more
than 100 million turkish liras.
The most common interventions done by the users
are renewal of plaster and paint, renewal / repair of roofs and
addition of new masses for services in the building
courtyards. The buildings on Kahraman Street are structurally
reinforced after the 1998 earthquake.
2.2. Evaluation:
In this phase the data which had been gathered in the
survey were evaluted for the definition of the characteristics
of the area and the buildings.
After the building lots were evaluated it was seen that
40 % of the buildings in the area were constructed after 1929
or built exactly in the same place of the buildings that existed
in 1929 but demolished after that year. 60 % of the buildings
have survived without being modified since 1929.
30 % of the building lots were divided (24) or
combined (11) legally and 5 of these combined ones were
expropriated for the road afterwards. 13 building lots were
divided whereas 2 were combined in use.
Renewals are the most common interventions on
interiors. Addition of masses to courtyards is also widely
seen. In 16 houses rooms are converted to service spaces.
Sometimes the rooms are divided to gain additional rooms or
new service spaces. Another modification is the conversion
of semi open spaces into closed spaces. 2 /¿vans (a semi open
space in front of the house, in the courtyard containing built-
in benches) are closed as such.
As the finishing materials are evaluated more than
one modification is observed in the spaces. In most examples
it is seen that the wall, floor and ceiling finishing materials
are changed whereas in less cases exist the alterations of
ceiling and floor or wall and floor.
In the mass scale, the addition and renewal of new
storeys and masses are the most common interventions.
Usually the additional masses attached to the buildings
contain living spaces whereas the independent ones are
reserved for service spaces. In many examples the buildings
are completely renewed, in other words the old buildings had
been demolished and the new ones are constructed exactly in
the same location.
The comfort conditions of the service spaces are
evaluated after the interviews with the inhabitants and the
collection of the physical data on site. The evaluation is
based on different criterias like lighting, ventilation, water
drainage, location and finishing material. When the kitchens,
bathrooms and toilets are investigated as a whole it is seen
that improvement is necessary in most cases. Five houses do
not contain any service spaces. For the improvement of the
houses the improvement of the service spaces is very
important.
To define the values and problems of the buildings,
the plan, façade and courtyard typologies were evaluated as
well as the traditional / original construction technique and
the rate of preserved material. Neoclassical buildings are
evaluated seperately as they present different characteristics
from traditional houses. Houses which possess unique
architectural elements and are among the typologies
constitute the l s( group whereas the houses which are among
the typologies but do not possess their architectural elements
constitute the 2 nd group. The 3 rd group is composed of the
examples which only retain their original mass characteristics
and construction techniques.
Antakya contains people from different religions and
this characteristic is also reflected in the physical urban
structure. The city, which is the second pilgrimage place after
Jerusalem, presents important possibilities for religious
tourism. Zenginler Quarter that has been investigated in this
study also possesses similar potentials. The roads which are
crucial for the religious tourism pass through this quarter,
they connect the religious buildings to each other and to the
city center. Moreover, since Zenginler Quarter is situated in
the historical city center it attracts the attention of both
national and international tourists. This fact creates a
potential for the enlivement of the commercial activities in
the area, too. The dead ends which contain nice vistas for the
reading of the multi-layered nature of the city are used as
semi public and semi private spaces.
In additon to those potentials, the buildings which are
used under their capacity also present a potential for taking in
new functions. The empty buildings and empty lots in the
area should be evaluated as a whole.
The dead ends or narrow streets have low
accessability and this creates serious problems in a case of
fire. To overcome this problem, fire hoses are placed in the
streets by the municipality but these are insufficient. The
location of the electric and telephone posts also increase this
risk. The lacking sewage covers, the insufficiency of the
street lamps constitute the problems related to the
infrastructure in the area.
Another important problem is the alteration or
covering of the street pavement with asphalt or cement. This
intervention destroys the original character of the streets and
physically creates problems for the drainage of rain water or
flood.
Narrow streets which do not allow the passage of
vehicles create a dense traffic. The entrance of the vehicles to
those streets and parking problems also affect the pedestrian
traffic.
