Restoration Project Of Kurtuluş Greek Primary School

Tez (Yüksek Lisans) -- İstanbul Teknik Üniversitesi, Fen Bilimleri Enstitüsü, 2015Thesis (M.Sc.) -- İstanbul Technical University, Institute of Science and Technology, 2015Tatavla (Kurtuluş) semti ilk yerleşiminden itibaren bir Rum yerleşkesi olmuştur. 19. Yy boyunca toplumsal düzendeki gelişmeler bu semtin gelişiminde de önemli rol oynamıştır. Nüfusun da artmasıyla bölgede hızlı bir inşa süreci başlamıştır. Eğitim ihtiyacının artmasıyla bölgede ‘Tatavla Merkez Mektebi’ bugünkü adıyla ‘Kurtuluş Rum İlkokulu’ yapılmıştır. Kurtuluş Rum İlkokulu, okul yapısı ve bahçesi ile birlikte; 1193 ada, 3-4-5-6-8 numaralı parsellerde yer almaktadır. Parselin güneydoğusunda Safa Meydanı Sokak üzerinden yapının ana girişi, kuzeydoğusunda ise Ateşböceği Sokak’tan ikincil giriş yer alır. Okulun kuzeydoğusunda geniş bir parselde bahçesi ve yönetim yapılarıyla Aya Dimitri Kilisesi yer almaktadır. Kurtuluş Rum İlkokulu’nun bahçe kapısı üzerinde 1886 tarihinin yer alması ve Hristodulu’nun okulun bu tarihte inşa edilmeye başlandığını belirtmesi yapının bu tarihte inşa edilmeye başlandığı kabulüne yol açar. Fakat yapılan araştırmalarla burada daha önceden bir yapının yer almış olması ve yapının buna göre şekillenmiş olması ihtimali göze çarpmıştır. Netleştirilemeyen bu görüş çalışmada bir olasılık olarak belirtilmiştir. Üç katlı, ahşap döşemeli kargir bir yapı olan okul bezemesiz bir yapı olup Neoklasik özellikler taşımaktadır. Okulda eğitim 1887 yılında başlamış ve 2003 senesine kadar devam etmiştir. Bu süreç içerisinde işlev değişikliğine uğramayan yapı, 2003 senesine kadar okul olma özelliğini korumuştur. Çok kapsamlı olmasa da bazı müdahaleler görmüş olan özgün yapıya 1954 ve 1962 senelerinde kuzeybatı cephesine bitişik olacak şekilde ek yapılar eklenmiştir. Günümüzde ek yapılarıyla birlikte hala ayakta olan yapı, 2003 senesinde son mezunlarını vererek okul işlevini tamamlamıştır. O zamandan beri kullanılmayan yapı ait olduğu Aya Dimitri Vakfı’nın girişimleriyle tekrar kullanılmak üzere değerlendirmeye alınmıştır. Tezin ikinci bölümünde tez konusu yapının yer aldığı Tatavla (Kurtuluş) semtinin İstanbul içindeki konumu, tarihsel gelişiminden ve 1929 yılında semtte çıkan büyük yangından bahsedilmiştir. Tezin üçüncü bölümünde 19.yy boyunca gerçekleşen toplumsal değişimlerden ve bunların azınlıklar üzerindeki etkilerinden bahsedilmiştir. Bu durumun yansıması olarak azınlık toplumların eğitim sistemlerindeki değişimlerden bahsedilmiş ve Tatavla (Kurtuluş) bölgesindeki Rum azınlık okullarına değinilmiştir. Tezin dördüncü, beşinci ve altıncı bölümlerinde yapının mimari özellikleri ve sırasıyla günümüzdeki durumu, kuruluşundan bugüne kadar geçirmiş olduğu değişimler anlatılarak bu önemli kültür varlığının yeniden işlevlendirilmesi için restorasyon projeleri hazırlanmıştır.İstanbul has been home to different cultures, religions and languages throughout the history. Kurtuluş (Tatavla) has been a Greek quarter from the beginning of its first settlement in the 16th century. The subject of this study, Kurtuluş Greek Primary School, its annexes and garden are located in İstanbul-Beyoğlu, Hacıahmet neighbourhood on the Safa Meydanı and Ateş Böceği Street, 1193 Block, 3-4-5-6-8 Parcels. The school is situated at the intersection parcel of Safa Meydanı Street and Ateşböceği Street. There are two storey and one store annexes on the northwest side of the original school building. This multiple building system is surrounded by a garden from the southwest direction. Hagios Dimitrios Church, opposite to the school, is one of the most important buildings of Kurtuluş quarter. 1886 is written at the entrance of the school, referring to construction date of the structure. The surveyed site is located in the centre of Kurtuluş, where today is called ‘Kurtuluş Son Durak’. Undertaking a detailed survey of this late 19th century construction site constitutes great importance for the documentation of minority buildings in İstanbul and generating a reliable archive for the next generations. In the second section, history of the Kurtuluş quarter is explained based on several resources. ‘Tatavla tarihi’ which was published in 1913 is the oldest written resource that is used in the thesis. It was written by Mellisinos Hristodulu, the Bishop of Pamphylia. This book was republished in 2013 by İstos Publications both in Turkish and Greek which is also the version used in this thesis. Orhan Türker’s ‘Osmanlı İstanbul’undan Bir Köşe: Tatavla’ and Burhan Yentürk’s ‘Ne Lazım Tatavla’da Bakkal Dükkanı’ are also the other main sources of information about ‘Tatavla’. In the third section, social improvements in the 19th century Ottoman Empire are summarized with emphasis on the reflections of these changes on minorities. As the thesis is about a minority school which was built at the end of 19th century, a research has been done about the improvements in educational life of the minorities in that century. At that point H. Ertuğrul’s ‘Azınlık ve Yabancı Okullarının Türk Toplumuna Etkisi’ and H. Vahapoğlu’s ‘Osmanlı’dan günümüze Azınlık ve Yabancı Okulları’ are used as main sources. As there are sufficient research about the minority schools in İstanbul, this thesis only focuses on schools which are located in Kurtuluş quarter. In the fourth section, existing position of the building is explained. The photographs used in the section belong to the author of the thesis. Sketches of the plans, sections and facades have been drawn before the documentation of the site. Then the building has been measured by using total station with the help of topography engineers. As a result of this process, 1/50 scale plans, sections and facades were created. Additionally, material and damage analysis are shown on survey drawings. In the fifth section, to understand the different periods of the building, a chronological research has been done. Early 20th century photographs, maps from Ottoman Archives and 1925 Pervititch maps are used as documents to identify the early periods of the building. The most important source of the first period is the photograph which was published in #Tarih periodical with the title of “Tatavla Fire”. Furthermore, the air photographs from 1946, 1950, 1954 and 1966 which are derived from the General Command of Mapping have guided to define restitution periods. İstekli (2015) is taken as a fundamental source for the definition of the second period. The author himself was a former student (1946-52) and a principal (1979-95) of the Kurtuluş Greek Primary School. Also the facebook group of graduates of the school provides invaluable photographs for the survey some of which are presented in the fifth section. In the sixth section of the thesis, the restoration project of this important cultural property has been prepared for reuse. The new function proposed in this thesis is an association which is to be founded by the ‘Hagios Dimitrios Foundation’ for both Greek and Turkish people. At this stage, the opinion of the chairman of the Hagios Dimitrios Foundation is also taken. The association will have a multi-purpose hall and a cafeteria on the original ground floor side. The soupkitchen on the ground floor annex will keep serving free for the community in Kurtuluş. On the first floor, there will be management rooms for the association members. A classroom for the people who want to learn greek language and culture will also be on the first floor. The annex on the first floor is designed as a children’s playroom, where also an elevator can reach to the first floor. On the second floor there are two classrooms for multiple purpose and a classroom as a memory classroom which includes old furniture and school materials. There will also be a research room and a library that includes documents and sources about the Kurtuluş quarter, Greek schools and the Greek minority. There should be interventions to make the school suitable for its new purpose. They are shown on the survey drawings with hatches that are explained by legends. The interventions are examined under five headings: removal of annexes, cleaning, repairment, re-making/completion and consolidation. As a result of this research, it is clear that Kurtuluş quarter still has its importance for the Greek people. To sustain its memory, it is important to keep this building alive and restore it for the future generations. It is also essential to have a survey with drawings of the building and the documentation of the history of the building to prepare a restoration project. This thesis sets light for coming projects about the Kurtuluş Greek Primary School building. In accordance with the studies in the thesis, the needs of the building under today’s conditions are revealed and potential methodologies for the responses are researched. In this restoration project, the main strategy for developing proposals for the improvement of the building is to preserve the original part of the building and to provide the users better and suitable conditions for modern requirements. Besides, it is recommended to keep the structure of annexes and renovate the material of the construction elements so that they can be distinguished from the original part. To sum up; the aim and the method of the research are clarified in the first section of the thesis, while the information on Kurtuluş quarter is included in the second part. In the third part, the education system of the minorities and the school buildings in Kurtuluş quarter are emphasized. In the fourth part, an analysis of the present condition is realized and the information on materials and deteriorations are documented. The fifth part includes a restitution project that is constituted in light of the corresponding findings while the required interventions are proposed in the next part. Finally, the outcome section includes a brief evaluation of the research.Yüksek LisansM.Sc