Evaluation of ecological measures in vernacular architecture: case of İzmir-Şirince

When environmental problems in the 21st century are taken into consideration, the sustainability is very important in terms of eliminating these problems and preventing them for the future generations' needs. A significant portion of the energy used in daily life is consumed in the house. Most of the energy in the house is spent on heating and cooling. Construction, use and demolition processes of housing also has a significant share in total energy consumption. Failure of buildings to comply with environmental data causes energy losses. It is seen that vernacular architectural examples are very efficient and sustainable in terms of energy. In this study, vernacular houses in Şirince village of Selçuk district of İzmir were chosen as the case area. The literature review after the problem determination revealed the relationship between the concepts of sustainability and ecology with architectural design and vernacular architecture. The concept of ecological evaluation in architecture is explained and the common systems in the world are examined. Evaluation criteria and scoring systems of these systems are included in the study. A new evaluation system has been established considering the criteria of these worldwide systems and local conditions. The criteria of this 24-item system consist of three main headings: • Land Use and Environmental Data • Energy, Resource and Material Use • Design and Comfort Subsequently, this system was tested on five houses that have not lost their traditional texture chosen in Şirince Village. As a result of this ecological evaluation, the design criteria in Şirince Village, which is an example of vernacular architecture, were determined. These design criteria have been presented as a proposal for the houses to be designed for İzmir region.