B r e a k f a s t Seminer, Department of Architecture,
Oxford Brookes University,
25 November 2008,
Oxford
READING ARCHITECTURE:
a conceptual understanding of
the traditional urban house of
C Y P R U S
Dr. HIFSIYE PULHAN
Visiting Scholar,
International Vernacular
Architecture Unit,
Department of Architecture
Oxford Brookes University
The i s l a n d of C y p r u s
fusion of several great cultures ...
Egyptians, Romans, Byzantines, Lusignans,
Venetians, Ottomans, British....
Dr. Hıfsiye PULHAN, Visiting Scholar, International Vernacular Architecture Unit, Oxford Brookes University
M u l t i - c u l t u r a l physical & social context
Cultural layers not only on top each other but also side by side ...not only successive
cultures but also co-existing cultures.
Dr. Hıfsiye PULHAN, Visiting Scholar, International Vernacular Architecture Unit, Oxford Brookes University
Different a r c h i t e c t u r a l styles
Byzantine, Gothic, Renaissance, Ottoman, Colonial
traces....
Dr. Hıfsiye PULHAN, Visiting Scholar, International Vernacular Architecture Unit, Oxford Brookes University
B u i l t
environment as the m a t e r i a l artifact
...reveal private and public identities,
aesthetic and constructional purposes,
routine and spritual aspirations of people
from different cultural backgrounds...
Nicosia
Dr. Hıfsiye PULHAN, Visiting Scholar, International Vernacular Architecture Unit, Oxford Brookes University
Traditional Urban House as the k e y c r e a t i o n
The shared image of all people and
densely dominated the urban
settlements ...even, its effects are
traced in the major rural settlements
Dr. Hıfsiye PULHAN, Visiting Scholar, International Vernacular Architecture Unit, Oxford Brookes University
Ancient coastal settlements & the c a p i t a l town
Girne
NICOSIA-
Beşparmak Mountains
LEFKOSIA–
Famagusta
LEFKOSA
Trodos
Mountains
At the geographic
center of the
island...
as a sociocultural,
economical and
administrative
heart of the
island
Larnaca
Paphos
Limassol
Dr. Hıfsiye PULHAN, Visiting Scholar, International Vernacular Architecture Unit, Oxford Brookes University
The walled city N i c o s i a
... commonly settled in by the people from the ruling class... Lusignan princes,
Venetian provvidetores, Ottoman Pashas, British Colonial high commissioners and
governors... Principal Greek and Armenian families...
Dr. Hıfsiye PULHAN, Visiting Scholar, International Vernacular Architecture Unit, Oxford Brookes University
The walled city N i c o s i a _ urban characteristics
3 key entities display the
muli-cultural character
of the city
-Venetian city Walls
-Medieval Street
pattern amended with
and structured by the
Ottoman urban
concerns.
-Its prevailing house
form
Dr. Hıfsiye PULHAN, Visiting Scholar, International Vernacular Architecture Unit, Oxford Brookes University
The walled city N i c o s i a
A typical Ottoman City Embedded within a post Medieval walled Latin City with its
pattern and the prevailing house form
Dr. Hıfsiye PULHAN, Visiting Scholar, International Vernacular Architecture Unit, Oxford Brookes University
Early Traditional urban house form
Transformation of the house image
in the city by the end of the
Sixteenth Century
-Late Gothic and early Renaissance
entries,
-arms of Latin Families,
-Latin fine ashlar stone ground floors
-Cumba
-Rooms with decorated ceilings,
-Ottoman interiors
-Ottoman upper floors with
baghdadi and Catma wall
construction techniques
Dr. Hıfsiye PULHAN, Visiting Scholar, International Vernacular Architecture Unit, Oxford Brookes University
Traditional urban house form_ a distinctive local style
Synthesis of
different
building
techniques
gave birth to
a house
form which
would be the
prototype for
the following
periods’
houses
Dr. Hıfsiye PULHAN, Visiting Scholar, International Vernacular Architecture Unit, Oxford Brookes University
Traditional u r b a n house form
Two stories_ Service spaces on the goround floor... Living at the upper floor.
Dr. Hıfsiye PULHAN, Visiting Scholar, International Vernacular Architecture Unit, Oxford Brookes University
Site Organization...
I.... U..... L .... Building block layouts.
Building Block-site relationships: An attempt to
create outdoor room
Dr. Hıfsiye PULHAN, Visiting Scholar, International Vernacular Architecture Unit, Oxford Brookes University
Spatial Elements of the house
different
degree of
openness
in
room,
sündürme,
havlı
Dr. Hıfsiye PULHAN, Visiting Scholar, International Vernacular Architecture Unit, Oxford Brookes University
H a v l ı _ no house without havlı
Havlı as the elementary
spatial cell of the urban fabric
.
Dense green... Daily
houseworks : laundry,
cooking, having guests...
Dr. Hıfsiye PULHAN, Visiting Scholar, International Vernacular Architecture Unit, Oxford Brookes University
H a v l ı _ an outdoor room
A walled garden... Strongly enclosed by
the body of house itself and additional
garden walls ...
Dr. Hıfsiye PULHAN, Visiting Scholar, International Vernacular Architecture Unit, Oxford Brookes University
S ü n d ü r m e _ the transitional space
Semi-open Space _not only a circulation place but also a multi-purpose
space in front of the rooms.
Act as a private extention of the street and it flows in the house,
Dr. Hıfsiye PULHAN, Visiting Scholar, International Vernacular Architecture Unit, Oxford Brookes University
S ü n d ü r m e _ the transitional space
Functional, climatic and spatial transition between public-private domains, indooroutdoor spaces and open-close entities
Dr. Hıfsiye PULHAN, Visiting Scholar, International Vernacular Architecture Unit, Oxford Brookes University
R o o m _ a multi-purpose space
Flexible organisation of the
fixed and non-fixed spatial
components.
Built-in sitting elements...
Shelves....
Cupboards
‘ev’ = house...
Dr. Hıfsiye PULHAN, Visiting Scholar, International Vernacular Architecture Unit, Oxford Brookes University
R o o m _ a self-sufficient living unit
Geometric decoration of ceiling coveys the spatial
segregation in the room
Dr. Hıfsiye PULHAN, Visiting Scholar, International Vernacular Architecture Unit, Oxford Brookes University
Spatial organisation
outer sündürme
inner sündürme
Dr. Hıfsiye PULHAN, Visiting Scholar, International Vernacular Architecture Unit, Oxford Brookes University
G e n e r i c forms and Derivations
Generic form 1
Generic form 2
Dr. Hıfsiye PULHAN, Visiting Scholar, International Vernacular Architecture Unit, Oxford Brookes University
G e n e r i c forms and Derivations
Plain forms
Additive forms
(room extend)
Additive forms
(sündürme extend)
Additive & subtractive forms
Subtractive forms
Dr. Hıfsiye PULHAN, Visiting Scholar, International Vernacular Architecture Unit, Oxford Brookes University
The traditional u r b a n h o u s e of Cyprus
Duality of introversion and extroversion in one
body of the building
Dr. Hıfsiye PULHAN, Visiting Scholar, International Vernacular Architecture Unit, Oxford Brookes University
Introverted S t r e e t Facade & C u m b a
The sign of room and sündürme on facade
Dr. Hıfsiye PULHAN, Visiting Scholar, International Vernacular Architecture Unit, Oxford Brookes University
Extroverted G a r d e n Facade
Sündürme as the perforated borderline / bounding volume on the garden facade
Dr. Hıfsiye PULHAN, Visiting Scholar, International Vernacular Architecture Unit, Oxford Brookes University
Change & C o n t i n u i t y : Early British Period
reforms in Anatolia ..new administrative
system ... opening to international
lifestyle and world-view ... Technology
and technical advancements...
•Foundation of royal railways
•introduction of electricity,
•distribution of the motorways networks
•New building functions...
Dr. Hıfsiye PULHAN, Visiting Scholar, International Vernacular Architecture Unit, Oxford Brookes University
P l a n n e d living environments
Dr. Hıfsiye PULHAN, Visiting Scholar, International Vernacular Architecture Unit, Oxford Brookes University
Late Traditional Urban House of Cyprus
The meaning of the house shifted from:
utility-based to image-based.
Thus, image of the urban house was
transformed from:
Latin Occidental into
Ottoman Turkish Oriental and then to the
tweentieth-century Levantine suburbia
as the late version of the traditional
urban house of Cyprus.
Dr. Hıfsiye PULHAN, Visiting Scholar, International Vernacular Architecture Unit, Oxford Brookes University
Change & B r e a k : Late British Period
new building materials,
structural systems &
construction techniques,
worldwide innovative
architectural forms.
Dr. Hıfsiye PULHAN, Visiting Scholar, International Vernacular Architecture Unit, Oxford Brookes University
Teşekkür ederim!
Thank you ...
Dr. Hifsiye PULHAN,
Assoc. Prof.
Faculty of Architecture, Department of Architecture,
Eastern Mediterranean University,
Gazimagusa, North Cyprus (via Mersin – 10 Turkey).
E-mail: [email protected]
For further information:
“An Enclosed Court: A Conceptual Analysis of the Traditional Courtyard House in
Cyprus”, Proceeding of the 4th International Seminar on Vernacular Settlement,
February 14-17, 2008, Ahmedabad, (pp. 203-212).
“The Traditional Urban House in Cyprus as Material Expression of Cultural
Transformation”, Journal of Design History, Vol.19, No.2, 2006, (pp. 105-119).
“The Transitional Space in the Traditional Urban Settlement of Cyprus”, Journal of
Architectural and Planning Research, Vol.22, No.2, 2005, (pp.160-178).
“Living Patterns and Spatial organization of the Traditional Cyprus Turkish House”,
Open House International, Vol. 26, No.1, Mach 2001, (pp.34-41).
Dr. Hıfsiye PULHAN, Visiting Scholar, International Vernacular Architecture Unit, Oxford Brookes University