An investigation on the re-functionalized Greek Orthodoks churches in Izmir in the context of sustainable preservation

City of İzmir, has hosted many different historical periods and their cultural outputs from past to present. In the city, the traces of different cultural periods such as antiquity, Beyliks, Ottomans and Turkish Republic can be examined at the same time. Within this heritage reflecting the multicultural social structure of the city, the role of religious buildings in terms of urban identity, environmental impact and social belonging have a great importance. The preservation / transformation implementations of these structures have the possibility to reshape the physical and social structure of the city. In this framework the subject of this study is to examine the environmental and social impact of preservation implementations of the historical religious structures belonging to the Greek-Orthodox community which has an important place in the multicultural social structure of the Ottoman Empire. Through the researches, site analyses and public surveys focusing on the historical structures and their environments, the effect of the preservation implementations and the new urban roles of these monumental buildings are to be defined while the continuity of the cultural values and contributions to the urban identity will be questioned. The findings of the research will be evaluated over a set of parameters such as environmental impact, sense of belonging, continuity of the spatial identity and the sufficiency of the new uses.