MELİHA ERCAN YAŞAM MERKEZİ
CULTURAL | PUBLIC
SELÇUKLU/KONYA
14.400 m²
2019
Sille is a special place that has a very important place in Anatolian civilizations and where cultures live together. Sille is a settlement with a different lifestyle with its natural silhouette and historical traces that integrate with this silhouette, with its civil architecture and settlement texture, customs, traditions and vineyards. It is an old settlement established in the valley opened by Sille Stream between Takkeli Mountain and Karabuğa Mountains, 8 km northwest of Konya city center. Today, Sille is an important cultural and tourism center of Konya. Today, there are structures mainly on the north and partly on the south slopes, with a creek bed in the middle. Today, only basic traces of the old dense texture are visible on the high parts of both slopes. In 1995, the southern slopes, where churches, monasteries and cemeteries are located, were declared as a first degree archaeological site and the main settlement area as an urban protected area by the Konya Cultural and Natural Heritage Preservation Board. Most of the buildings in Sille were built in a cubic architectural style with flat roofs reflecting the features of the traditional texture. Mass ratios, land structure, terraced houses, neighborhoods and streets reflect the characteristic character of Sille. Due to the slope of the land, all the houses were built as terraces.
The design area is located at the entrance of the Sille district. The main idea of the project is to create a fragmented, plain facade and mass design that bears traces of the traditional texture in the historical city center. The building aims to create a value for its environment with its architecture and landscape. Creating a mass effect that complements the traditional silhouette by contributing to the historical settlement is one of the starting points of the design. In the mass design, it is aimed to create a silhouette close to the existing texture by creating different heights in the third dimension of the sections at different angles related to each other horizontally. In the design, primarily the mass was retracted by staggering. And the fragmentation of the created mass according to the determined vertical proportions has ensured that the lower floors are aligned with the land lines. When the traditional Sille texture is examined, an organic settlement draws attention. In order to emphasize this natural settlement that reflects the general texture, the fragmented upper masses are positioned using different angles. The buildings in Sille, which do not block each other's sun and view, are positioned in such a way that they do not interfere with their privacy. This harmony in the historical settlement has also affected the interior order and details of the buildings, and a proportional and gradual rise has been achieved. By using the land slope in the design, a proportional and gradual settlement reflecting the traditional Sille texture was made. In accordance with the slope of the land, the number of mass floors has been reduced at the lowest elevation of the land.
Stonework has an important place in Sille history. Sille stone was widely used in many old buildings in the region and in Seljuk and Ottoman mosques in Konya. Sille stone, earth (adobe) and wood were used as building materials in Sille houses. The wood and stone seen in the houses exhibit local architectural features. The stone, wood and colors used in the design were chosen based on the traditional Sille texture. The original color and material characters of Historical Sille were analyzed. In line with these analyses, natural materials in the existing texture were also used in the design in order to strengthen the relationship of the building with its environment and the city. The elements that make up the architectural identity of the houses in the traditional Sille texture (window ratios, beams, wooden protrusions, color, stone walls, etc.) were analyzed and these building elements were included in the design. The use of modularly divided vertical window ratios in Sille architecture in façade design increases the effect of the plain design language.
Meliha Ercan life center; It offers a qualified living space to the users with its social reinforcement areas, open and closed area balance and landscape. While there are installation volumes and various social facilities on the lower floors, there are living areas and rooms on the upper floors.
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