Şengül Öymen Gür and Şengül Yalçınkaya Erol
Due to discontent arising from the application of Modernism's totalitarian and homogenising logic to house design, recent research has concentrated on differences between…
Abstract
Due to discontent arising from the application of Modernism's totalitarian and homogenising logic to house design, recent research has concentrated on differences between cultures, societies and ethnic groups to the extent that today's students of architecture have difficulty finding sources which point to any universally valid values and preferences adopted by contemporary populations. In this study seventeen major design principles stemming from man-environment relationships, such as privacy, territoriality, personal space, backstage behaviour, orientation, and so on, as deduced from Turkish traditional houses, are investigated in terms of similarities among cultures. Samples of contemporary houses are selected from Turkey and elsewhere. Between local and international house designs full matches are depicted and verified by way of statistical analyses across fourteen items, such as living space subdivisions for guests and family, indirect access to the house (modulation), multi-purpose living space subdivisions (hierarchical living space), individualized bathrooms in bedrooms, independent family rooms, semi-closed spaces on the first floor, larger fenestration on upper floors as opposed to opacity of ground floors, segregated garden space, powerful demarcation of the garden space, orientation toward the house's own territory, bathrooms being situated in night time domains, differentiated status of spaces, multiple uses for stair landings (such as for hiding places for goods). Only three items showed some variance: closed balconies on upper floors were local, and semi-open spaces on ground floors were international tendencies. The practice of allowing direct access from the main entrance to a vertical circulation area was also predominantly a local choice.
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Fikret Okutucu, Ahmet Kochan, Yusuf Yildiz and Sengul Oymen Gur
The purpose of this research is to discover the underlying reasons for the failure of solar energy architecture in Turkey in order to be able suggest methods of improving it in…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this research is to discover the underlying reasons for the failure of solar energy architecture in Turkey in order to be able suggest methods of improving it in Turkey and worldwide.
Design/methodology/approach
The methodology employed in this research is on‐site observations of Turkish solar houses built with respect to the details of their application, and depiction of heat gains provided with applied solar measures, and to compare them with an ideal gauge to determine the deficiencies involved in applications.
Findings
The investigations discovered that various buildings under consideration share several errors. In order of importance, these items are: faulty applications, erroneous choice of methods and lack of precautions in the summer.
Practical implications
The practical implications of the study are that measures must be taken to prevent heat loss during winter nights; outer walls with a resistance to heat transmission of u=1 W/m2K would have been preferred rather than ordinary old‐fashioned Trombe walls; in order to prevent overheating the surfaces of the sunspaces, Trombe walls and air collectors contacting the outer environment need to be made movable or pliable to avoid sinking of heated air into the sunspace.
Social implications
The social implication of the study is that only continued exploration into solar energy use via exemplary practice may encourage adoption of these systems by society itself.
Originality/value
The value of the research resides in translating knowledge gained from previous solar projects into design aspects which are expected to avoid these errors and deficiencies, demonstrated herein through Malatya solar housing, from which everyone involved in passive solar house design may benefit.