Appropriated 'a la Franga': An examination of Turkish modernization through the lens of domestic culture.

The scholarship on modernization of non-western states can be enhanced with the help of recent formal approaches to architecture such as space syntax methodology that examines the spatial morphology of the built environment. This research explores the complex dynamisms involved in the Turkish modernization process and demonstrates the schism that exists between the historical periods representing social changes and the spatial periods representing the transformation of Ankara house genotype. Based on the interpretative examination of selected sources, the continuity and change in domestic life is examined within five sub-categories: namely, the relation between public and private realms within domestic space, the relationship between inhabitants and visitors, the social role of women, the upbringing and significance of children, and the impact of material culture on daily life. Using space syntax methodology, the formal syntactic aspects of 108 exemplary house plans, all designed by Turkish architects for upper-middle class citizens, are examined to uncover the Ankara house genotype. These houses are digitized and syntactic analyses conducted to examine the permeability and visibility properties of domestic spaces. It is suggested that spatial transformation of apartment designs reflect three distinct genotypes in terms of sector differentiation and relation to the exterior: (a) no sector differentiation one entrance; (b) different sectors, multiple entrances; and (c) different sectors, one entrance. To present the socio-spatial transformation of Turkish domestic culture, a conceptual framework with three categories is proposed. The first category, the definition of boundaries, involves a diachronic examination of houses focusing on functional spaces and service areas. The second, flexibility of definitions, involves a synchronic examination looking at the changes in activity patterns based on time and occupancy, and discussing fluidity of what is considered public and private. The last category, the in-between, examines the significance of the transition spaces in the house, between inside and outside, and between rooms. Through this framework, both social as well as spatial transformations are considered in understanding of the complex dynamisms that reflect cultural change. This change, i.e. modernization, is defined as an evolutionary process that involves a cultural synthesis as two different ways of living encounter each other.Ph.D.ArchitectureCommunication and the ArtsCultural anthropologySocial SciencesUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/125091/2/3186640.pd