The examination of historical Akcaabat Ortamahalle houses in terms of construction system and construction materials with the purpose of the sustainability of cultural heritage

The humankind has harmed the earth, which is the only living space they have, for the last 300 years more than ever. The production has been accelerated enormously with the Industrial Revolution. Despite the fact that the developing technology and industry are regarded positively, the cost-profit relationship has been questioned with the damage given to nature. Not forgoing the production, despite the harm that cause cannot be denied, has caused a vicious circle of sustainability and compelled all of us to give a thought on the issue. Sustainability has found a place in every corner of human life. Sustainability has become a detail or has been obliged to be a detail, in every aspect of life, from the plastic bags used in markets to construction materials. Otherwise, the humankind might be forced to find another planet to settle down. In the present time, that the cultural heritage is easily and rapidly destroyed, the concept of sustainability has found a place in this issue as well. Our historical buildings, which are the visible faces of the accumulation of centuries, are at risk of not being transferred to the next generations. With the concern caused by this situation, many historical areas in our country have been put under protection. The historical Ortamahalle neighborhood is one of those areas. The historical Ortamahalle houses can survive until today without being deteriorated. With their present condition, they can inform us about the past lifestyles and our traditional architecture. Our traditional architecture is also significant in terms of the solutions which were found in the periods that the energy variety was limited and difficult to be provided. Nowadays, energy- efficient structures are tried to be designed with the purpose of using the limited energy resources efficiently. This situation directs researchers to examine traditional buildings from this perspective. The continual experience and accumulation of years are embedded in our traditional buildings. However, protection of such kind of areas is neglected most of the times or they are damaged as a result of the protection attempts. One of the most important reasons for this situation is that the masters who know the traditional construction techniques are not alive anymore and they could not transfer their art to the next generations through an apprentice. Our traditional construction techniques and the construction materials used at that time are the faces that are behind the scenes of the buildings which are our cultural heritage. Protecting and transferring them is a debt that we owe to next generations. In the first chapter of the study, that consists of five chapters, the development and causes of the problem and the purpose of the study were explained. As it was explained above, the problem is that human beings produce more than they need and pollute. This situation induces the end of our living space. The solution for this situation is considered as minimizing the harm given to nature by reducing the waste generation and expanding the life of the product. In the purpose section, the subject of construction technique of a traditional building towards this solution and examination of construction materials are included. The areas and subjects that the study includes are explained under the title of the scope. The study area of the study is the Ortamahalle protected area located in Trabzon province, Akçaabat district which has many residential structures and could survive until today by being protected. The way of carrying out the study and the methods follows were explained in the first chapter, under the title of methods. In the aforementioned chapter, the observation, interviews with the master, modeling of the selected example structure in terms of the construction system and laboratory analyses of the materials taken from the building were mentioned. In the second chapter, the general information on Akçaabat district of Trabzon was given. In this chapter, the history, geography, climate, and flora of Akçaabat were explained. The construction years and the and sources of incomes of the owners of the buildings have an importance in order to understand the difference of Ortamahalle houses which differ from the rural architecture of Trabzon. Accordingly, the history of Akçaabat was tried to be explained in detail in terms of the study. In addition, the geographic features of Akçaabat have an importance in terms of the preferences of the location and direction of the structures. In this chapter, Akçaabat's rugged terrain was explained. The climate structures should be known in order to understand the climatological rapports, therefore it was explained under the title of climate. Finally, the flora of Akçaabat was included under the title of flora as it plays an important role in terms of the material preference of the construction. In the third chapter, the literature research on traditional wooden carcass systems and traditional construction materials were presented. This section is the general state of the specialized systems which will be explained in the following chapters. The reason for explaining the construction systems, whether they were or were not used in the structure, is the fact that the reasons for preference of the system which was used are understandable. In addition the general features of the stone and wood, which are traditional construction materials. In the fourth section, the general characteristics of Ortamahalle houses that the study focused on were presented. The general structures of Ortamahalle houses were identified through eight structures as; the plan, facade, usage, orientation, settlement and structure system as a result of the observations on the study area and examination of the studies conducted on the subject. The purpose of this chapter is to explain that Akçaabat structures, which are different than traditional Karadeniz structures, have a general character. In the fifth chapter of the study, a structure that is expected to provide more data was determined among the eight chosen structures. Due to the fact that this structure has the general features of Ortamahalle houses, and that these issues were discussed in the fourth chapter, they were not mentioned again yet the issues of construction systems and construction materials were emphasized. The timber-framed- plasterboard over a masonry wall rubble wall construction systems of the structure was explained through the model created with the help of the drawing and photographs of the example structure and material analyses results were presented. This chapter was assessed in itself with the concluding chapter. As a conclusion, in this study, the construction system of the historical Ortamahalle houses and the features of the materials used in the construction were tried to be examined and presented through an example structure. In this direction, the study shed a light on the construction systems and the features of the construction materials that will be used in the restoration or reconstruction of Akçaabat Ortamahalle houses. In addition, the structures were evaluated in terms of earthquake and thermal properties and suggestions were made.