Republican period architecture and its contribution to city identity: The example of Burdur city center

Since its existence, mankind has met its need for shelter by using caves, setting up tents and building houses. This process, which is in constant change, has been shaped according to the different characteristics of each period. Burdur City, one of the oldest settlements in Anatolia, has been in constant change throughout its historical process. Especially after the proclamation of the Republic, important zoning developments have occurred in Burdur as well as in all Anatolian cities that have sought identity. These urban dynamics experienced had an impact on the structures built during this period. The main purpose of this thesis is to examine the urban dynamics experienced in Burdur during the Republican Period and to determine the facade characters of the periodical structures on the main axes that make up the city center. Thus, it is aimed to understand the importance of the place of period buildings on urban identity. In this context, the architectural structures around the square and the main axes connected to the square in the city center were examined in four groups as civil, educational, public and commercial structures. Within the scope of the study, field study, literature review and facade analysis drawings were used as methods. First of all, structures suitable for the subject were determined. Then, the facade features of these selected buildings were analyzed. With the analysis study, different and common typological features of each structure were determined. At the end of the study, the architectural examples built in the Republican Period were evaluated in terms of urban identity. It is very important for the city memory to reveal and document the architectural heritage of the Republican Period and transfer it to the future. As for the sample area determined in the study, no comprehensive study has been carried out before. For this reason, the thesis study has an important place in the literature in terms of the absence of any studies on the buildings built in the Republican Period in Burdur and the importance of the architecture of this period in terms of urban identity. Keywords: Identity, urban identity, Republican era, Burdur.