PECULIARITIES OF THE HISTORIC ENVIRONMENT OF ARNAVUTKÖY
Journal Name:
- Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi Mimarlık Fakültesi Dergisi
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Abstract (2. Language):
Arnavutköy is a small village on the Bosphorus. Due to its
position and fresh-water springs, the site was a favourable
spot since Roman times. In the fourth century, Byzantine
emperor Constantius I (337-361) ordered the construction of a
church dedicated to Archangel Michael. During the reign of
Emperor Justinian the Great (527-565) this building was replaced
by a new Michaelion, circular in plan and surrounded by a
colonnaded courtyard. The village flourished until the attacks
of the approaching Ottomans made it risky to live on the
Bosphorus. As a result of desertion, the place fell into
disrepair and the ruins of the church and the adjoining
monastery were used in the construction of the Rumelihisar.
After the conquest of Istanbul, people re-settled m the same
area. The exact origin of the name Arnavutköy, meaning the
Albanian village, is not known, but according to two eighteenth
century historians -Incicyan and Sarraf-Hovannesyan- the first
settlers were Albanians. However, from late seventeenth
century on, Arnavutköy was known as a non-muslim settlement where
the majority of the population was Greek. Arnavutköy had to be
re-built several times, due to drastic damages of fires. The
present street structure of the village was laid out after' the
last fires of 1887 and 1908 which destroyed a total of 373
houses in the village. Even after suffering so severely as to
be totally reconstructed, no serious precaution was taken
against future damages. Timber was the main construction
material, because it was easy to construct with and readily
available in Istanbul.
Being constructed in an era of historicism and Art Nouveau,
most of the houses are in the revivalist styles of the
nineteenth century. The diversity of forms and surface
decoration and the architectural effect presented by sets of
jetties, canopies, balconies, pediments and serrated gables
is pleasing to behold.
The problems related to the conservation of, the timber houses
in Arnavutköy are manifold. Firstly, there is the economic
pressure; the rises in the land-values roused an urge towards
the conversion of small houses or yalxs (water-front houses)
into high-rise apartment houses. Thus, most of the houses on
Kuruçeşme Caddesi were demolished to give way to new buildings.
On the back-streets of. Arnavutköy, however, where it was not
possible to catch a good wiew over the Bosphorus, the prices
were lower and the incidence of interference was less. Secondly,
there is the social change. The original owners of the houses,
most of whom were well-to-do Greeks, migrated abroad, leaving
their houses behind. Whether sold or rented, the one-family
houses were inhabited by several families, each dwelling on
one of the floors. In architectural terms, this meant an
adaptive re-use of the historic housing stock, an operation
which requires thorough investigation. In practice however, no
investment was put into the conversion of the houses. Regular
maintenance was neglected; only crude repairs of some details
took place. Due to lack of modern installations, the houses
were generally preferred by low-income groups who could not
afford to pay higher rents. Their cultural background did not
provide them with an awareness of the architectural importance
of the environment they were living in.
In 1976, the timber houses in Arnavutköy were taken under
statutory protection. Although the recording of structural and
constructional details of nineteenth century timber buildings
bears crucial significance to art historians and people
working in the field of conservation, the High Commission of
Historic Buildings and Monuments was contented with 1/50 scale
drawings and photographs of Class II buildings. According to
Turkish regulations Class II buildings can be totally
demolished but have to be reconstructed to the former façade(s).
The reproduction of the historic facades., however, are not
always faithful copies. The spacing of windows, the forms of
the brackets, the colour schemes do not follow the original.
What is more, the new building, which is usually a reinforced
concrete frame with brick walls, has to be clad with timber,
which from an ethical point of view adds more shame to the
process.
Expressing the urgency for action, in 1976, the High Commission
of Historic Buildings and Monuments asked for the preparation
of the conservation plan for Arnavutköy historic center.
According to the present administrative system, it is the
responsibility of the Ministry of Culture to support
conservation schemes, financially and professionally. Hopefully,
the Ministry of Tourism will also contribute to this end and
the timber houses of Arnavutköy will be given a new lease of
life which they duly deserve.
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