Transformation of Housing for Commercial Usage: An Assessment of Three Extant Residential Buildings in Ankara

Housing has become an asset within the real estate sector nowadays that is merely bought and sold within the economic system, and so has somewhat lost its original purpose as a shelter that focuses on meeting human needs. Due to the urban and housing policies that have döbeen applied throughout Turkey, housing has, in a sense, lost its value. Ankara, especially in areas that contain a significant amount of the housing stock of the pre-Republic period before 1980, has not been spared the effects of these policies. In fact, the province of Ankara has been particularly affected by the influences of modern architecture. Most of the residential buildings that were completed in this period have either been demolished or converted for commercial usage. There are several reasons for this, including changing centers, rapid population growth, migration, and zoning decisions. It can be said that the vast majority of the modern housing buildings that still survive in Ankara are mostly located in the Kızılay area and were built before 1960. The study aims to reveal the changes that have occurred between the past and present states of three pre-1960 housing structures that are located primarily in Kızılay. According to the original projects of the selected buildings, only the ground floors were utilized for commercial purposes, but today all three are used entirely for commercial purposes. In the study, the past-present examination of the selected buildings was carried out through archive and field studies. For each building, the new arrangements made on the basis of each unit are documented, and the effects of the changes on the facade and interior spaces are detailed. As a result, not only all of the changes are identified, but also suggestions are given to provide a reference for decisions that can be taken to maintain the architectural value of the buildings