Examination of structures designed as museums in Istanbul in the context of architectural identity

Identity is the greatest guiding instrument that qualifies people and other beings, and helps us know them and distinguish them from others. As for the architectural identity, it is a concept that tells us for what purpose and function the architectural structure has been built, to what period of architectural style it belongs or whether it embodies the artist's identity. People, as users of architectural structures, influence and contribute to the formation of architectural identity. If we argue that identity is related to human beings and that it is a social concept, we can say that the social and cultural lifestyle of the societies and their architectural identities are shaped by many influences. Museum structures are among the structures that best reflect the cultural identities of societies. They are structures that display present or past cultural structure and identity of the society present period by exhibiting both collections of the communities that lived in the past and providing temporary exhibits. In addition, museum structures are the ones that live with the community and educate and direct it. With their positions and postures in the city, they have the characteristic of being structures that define and direct the city. The criteria that guide their design in museum constructions can be ranked as follows; the city's socio-cultural, economic, political, geographical and topographical features and construction technology; the architectural movements and changes in the period when a museum was built; need program of the museum's structure; local, national and universal requirements. Monumental and characteristic architectural artefacts are the factors that shape the urban identity and influence the environment where they are. For example; when the silhouette of Istanbul is imagined, what is remembered most probably are the sights of Istanbul Bosporus, mosques and minarets. Although these characteristic constructions affect the silhouette of the city, the important architectural works and the architectural identities of these works also affect the urban perception and the society living there. Along with the changing and developing understanding of museology, the museums are now used for the formation of local and regional images. Both by educating the people with their rich collections and reviving the history by clearing the past up, the museum buildings in Istanbul raise awareness of the society by influencing the culture, thus helping it collect new perspectives. The museum structures that nourish the community and are nourished by the community will always remain as historical, cultural and artistic structures that will carry us to the future. When the museum structures in Istanbul were examined in this research, it was seen that, although there are about 100 museum buildings in İstanbul, only five of them were designed, implemented and built as museums. Turkey's first museum building designed as a museum structure and applied is Istanbul Archaeology Museum. It is the classical one of the three buildings in the museum complex built under the name of Istanbul Archaeology Museums. Other constructions that were examined together with the Istanbul Archaeology Museum as they were also designed as museums are Istanbul Aviation Museum, Ural Ataman Classic Car Museum, Panorama 1453 History Museum, Istanbul Maritime Museum. The museum buildings were examined in terms of historical, socio-cultural, environmental and functional factors that form identity. The location of the museum buildings, the plan typology, the additional buildings (if there are any) and the facade identity were analyzed and interpreted.