Examination of reconstruction and re-functioning in historical buildings: Bursa Hançerli Fatma Sultan Madras

Historical buildings may lose their original functions over time due to social, cultural, economic or technological reasons. Buildings that have lost their original function may be exposed to either neglected or inappropriate use against the negative effects of social and environmental conditions over time. Historical structures that try to survive in this way may become ruined, derelict or even completely disappear over time. In this way, giving new functions to the structures that have lost their function and reconstruction, which is the reconstruction of the destroyed structures, are among the methods of protection of historical structures. Reconstruction is a conservation method that is used in special situations and is used for the importance of the destroyed structure in terms of its location and urban identity. Giving a new function to historical buildings provides suitable new usage opportunities according to the spatial, structural and environmental characteristics of the building and the needs of the city in which it is located. In fact, architectural protection is provided by refunctioning historical buildings, while sustainable preservation of economic, social and cultural values is ensured. Bursa Hançerli Fatma Sultan Madrasa, which is the subject of this thesis, was also a structure that fell out of use and was ruined and only traces of its foundations remained. The madrasa structure, which has lost its function today, has been rebuilt with the help of traces, simultaneous structures and documents and is used today as the Hançerli Madrasa Cultural Center. In this study, in which reconstruction and re-functioning are discussed, it is aimed to evaluate the methods followed in the preservation of the Hançerli Fatma Sultan Madrasa. In the thesis study conducted for this purpose, literature and field studies were carried out. In the literature study, information about conservation methods was obtained; focused on reconstruction and re-functioning methods and sample applications from the world and Turkey were examined. Later, the survey, restitution and reconstruction projects of Hançerli Fatma Sultan Madrasa were obtained by using legal permissions through D2 Architecture and Analysis Restoration firms. The current situation has been determined by means of examination, observation and photographing in the field study. The reconstruction and re-functioning of the building were analyzed and evaluated in the light of all the data obtained. As a result, in this thesis study, in which reconstruction and refunctioning are evaluated through the Hançerli Fatma Sultan Madrasa, the methods followed while revealing the importance of these methods in the preservation of historical buildings are revealed.