A phenomenological reading on the "mediterraneanness" of contemporary architecture: The case study of Antalya

One of the main assertions of the modern movement that dominated the first half of the 20th century architecture is the necessity of a universal production paradigm independent from local conditions. Post-modern architectural theory, which had developed from the mid-20th century onwards, opposed this universalist approach by relying upon different intellectual systems. The common feature of regionalism, one of the movements that emerged within this framework, and phenomenology, one of the underlying philosophical sources of the period is that they emphasize the importance of local character, original inputs and historical experience in architectural design. The Mediterranean Basin, which involves different settlements where local architectural character has matured through historical experience, provides rich historical data in terms of the reflection of geographical and cultural context on architecture. In 20th century historiography, the concept of 'Mediterraneanness' has developed by emphasizing the historical and cultural commonalities specific to the Mediterranean geography. Recalling of the importance of local data in post-modern architectural theory led to an increased interest in historical products of architecture developed within the Mediterranean climate, geography and culture, and these buildings have begun to be seen as interpretable sources of information for contemporary architecture. Thereby, identifying the criteria and methods, through which contemporary architecture might develop "Mediterranean" sensibilities becomes an important task. The thesis questions the possibilities of defining the 'Mediterranean' architectural qualities specific to traditional settlement textures, identifying their continuities in contemporary architecture, and sustaining 'Mediterraneanness' with original interpretations in contemporary designs, and argues that these can be possible on the basis of a qualitative research ground based on a phenomenological conceptual framework. This phenomenological reading, discussing the "Mediterraneanness" of contemporary architecture, opposes superficial design approaches delimiting, today, "Mediterranneanness" within formal imitations of historical elements of architecture, and instead, aims to develop original design interpretations and their underlying criteria system, which can represent the characteristic spatial qualities of historical built environment through abstract spatial principles and which can assess space within its three dimensional depth and experiential potentials. Within the scope of this research, a phenomenological representation method is developed for enabling the identification of spatial experience processes and corresponding spatial patterns specific to a particular traditional settlement texture of the Mediterranean geography. In this direction, the aim of the thesis is to propose a method for the identification of local 'Mediterranean' qualities in traditional urban textures, to determine how and at what level these qualities exist in architectural products bearing spatial features related to the contemporary interpretation of tradition in the relevant region, to propose a method for the maintenance of the identified local 'Mediterranean' architectural qualities through original interpretations of today, and to test this method by referring to a case study. The historical fortified center of Antalya (Kaleiçi), which possesses a traditional settlement texture shaped by geographical and cultural dimensions, has been selected as the sample area used in the process of defining the 'Mediterranean' architectural qualities, characteristic to traditional settlement textures. The 'Mediterranean' qualities of the Kaleiçi texture have been revealed through the phenomenological representation method by using the spatial patterns. The reflections of the local "Mediterranean" qualities of architecture, which are identified through the above-mentioned method, in the contemporary architectural products of Antalya, are investigated. While forming the sample within the scope of contemporary architecture, the selection criteria were determined as follows: The sample designs should have been built in the period extending from the early 1980s to the present day when tourism and urban development accelerated in Antalya. In addition, they should meet the function of housing, and they should produce a settlement texture with the organization of their spatial units. The last selection criteria is that they should have spatial features related to the contemporary interpretation of the local architectural tradition or that they should have been produced within the framework of an architectural discourse in that vein Thus, the thesis proposes a qualitative criterion system for the determination of 'Mediterranean' architectural qualities in historical textures and the maintenance of these qualities in future architectural products through original interpretations. This system can be implemented in all settlements possessing architectural values characteristic of the region. In this way, a method can be developed for the continuity of region-specific architectural language through original interpretations which do not become formal or superficial imitations.