Investigation of the traditional building systems in terms of sustainability

In recent years increasing environmental problems and the deterioration of the ecological balance have led societies to live in harmony with nature and to reconsider their production and consumption patterns. Especially when the practices made in the construction sector, which is one of the sectors that seriously damage the environment, are being reconsidered it becomes necessary to build structures that respect human and environment, are harmless to natural resources, are compatible with the climate, spend less energy in creating comfort conditions and give priority to the use of recycled materials. Traditional settlements are the areas which are compatible with the features such as climate and topography in their geography, reflect the beliefs, traditions and life culture of the society and they compose of the use of local building materials with the past knowledge. In the studies on sustainable architecture, it is seen that there are similarities between traditional architecture and sustainable architecture and when the sustainability criteria are examined, it is revealed that the foundation is based on traditional architecture. Therefore, in the thesis study it is aimed to reveal these similarities over the sample settlement. As a sample area, Bozüyük Village of Yatağan District of Muğla Province, which is a well-preserved residential area, has been considered and it has been observed that these houses built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries have similar characteristics with Muğla Houses. The suitability of three traditional houses in BozüyükVillage that have different features, to the sustainability criteria which determined as land layout, green texture, building form, building envelope, space organization, material selection and construction were examined. Compliance with sustainability criteria of selected traditional building samples was evaluated by making comparative analysis. In addition, a survey was conducted to determine the user satisfaction of the people living in the village and the collected data were evaluated. As a result, it has been observed that traditional houses in Bozüyük Village are compatible with nature considering the climate characteristics of the location and they have sustainable architectural features.