Evaluation of adobe housing architecture and conservation problems in rural settlements: The case of Ördekdede village in Kahramanmaraş

Rural settlements, which emerged in accordance with environmental conditions and specific geographical characteristics, reflect unique culture, way of life and architectural features. Rural architecture is shaped according to the possibilities of the environment and reflects the traditional lifestyle. It is of importance that the traditional rural architecture should be preserved for the conservation of the culture, lifestyle, traditional settlement pattern and architectural values it reflects and be transferred to future generations. Rural architectural structures were built with local materials such as adobe, stone and wood. In areas where it was difficult for the settled civilizations to reach materials such as wood and stone, the building material they used to meet their shelter needs was usually mud brick. Since the main material is soil, the soil is easily accessible and people can shape it easily, adobe has been frequently used in rural architecture. However, developing technology and easier accessibility of building materials compared to adobe, the vulnerability of the structure of adobe and adobe materials to natural disasters and its need to constant maintenance, has caused it not to be preferred in today's architecture. On the other hand, most of the mudbrick structures that have survived to the present day are in a neglected state, and some of them have been repaired in a way that damages their original architectural character. In this context, the traditional adobe houses located in Ördekdede Village of Pazarcık District of Kahramanmaraş Province, which are examined within the scope of the thesis, have preserved their originality when compared to the surrounding villages and have survived until today. Due to these qualities, Ördekdede Village, with its local architecture and traditional village life, is selected as a proper case for research. Increasing the awareness of the traditional mudbrick housing pattern of Ördekdede Village, determining its cultural values, documenting them and transferring them to future generations with the appropriate preservation methods are important in the context of the conservation of the rural architectural heritage. For this purpose, a theoretical framework has been created within the scope of the thesis, and analyzes and evaluations have been made in order to document and protect the architectural heritage of the village. Within the theoretical framework; the literature on the subject was reviewed, national and international regulations, the studies of the relevant institutions and organizations, and the case areas that have been protected were examined. On the architectural and environmental scale; preliminary determination, analyses, spatial investigation studies, measurements, photographs, written and drawn documentation and evaluations were made. Therefore, Ördekdede Village was holistically studied as a whole at the scale of building, lot and traditional environment. As a result, the problems identified regarding the preservation of the cultural heritage and traditional architecture of Ördekdede Village were evaluated; suggestions on building, environment and legal scale have been developed considering architectural characteristics, rural environment, economic and social development. The developed proposals emphasized the importance of producing sustainable solutions for rural protection.