Historical references in architectural design with special emphasis on Anatolian vernacular architecture : a study in Turkish tourism architecture

Architects in Turkey have made extensive reference to traditional Anatolian building styles in recent work. However, there has been little systematic study of how they have gone about the use of these references. This research analyses varied approaches of designers and their ways of interpreting the vernacular heritage in recent living environments. This research is not designed to investigate the architectural design process itself; the aim is rather to look for possible influences of the archetypes of vernacular and regional architecture in contemporary architecture in order to create a unique identity, using different design actions; imitation, bricolage, analogies, interpretation and mimesis. In order to search for the possible effect of the archetypes of vernacular environment on contemporary design practice, selected architects who have been active in the recent design of tourism buildings in Turkey have been selected. Seventeen case studies have been analysed and nine architects have been interviewed. Many regions in Turkey have been visited in order to have wider archive of Anatolian Historical and Vernacular archetypes. From each architect, several buildings have been chosen for observation and analysis. The data was collected in several different ways, which are: first, direct observation, visiting the sites for the relevant information such as photographs, sketches and scaled drawings; second, semi-structured interviews with the designer in order to catch their intentions in selected case studies. The current study is based on qualitative analysis using HyperResearch software on both materials gathered by observation and interview transcripts. The result of the collected data with selected research method showed that the Anatolian historical and vernacular archetypes are being used by the architects in their recent architectural practices via different level of referential interpretations. The research goes beyond simple subjective observations of the use of historical references; this has been achieved through the development of framework for the systematic classification and analysis of a range of reference types. This has been used both in the interpretation of visual material and in the analysis of documentary sources and interviews with architects. The intentions of each architect in case studies have been identified and a list of most frequently used historical elements have also been given. Keywords: Vernacular architecture, historical references, Tourism Buildings, Turkish Architecture, Imitation, Bricolage, Analogy, Interpretation, Mimesis.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo