Papers by Author: Ayten Erdem

Abstract: A significant part of traditional dwellings in Turkey consists of houses built with wood-frame technique. The building of wood-frame houses continued until the 1950s. Up to the 1990s, the preferred method of restoration in Turkey of wooden buildings, which have been disappearing very quickly due to many reasons, had been to demolish and to rebuild them in reinforced concrete maintaining their outside appearance. Restoration experts have constantly explained that producing copies devoid of all their original values is contrary to the spirit of “preservation” and nowadays the obligation to restore wooden buildings by using the method of wood-frame building has been introduced; however, despite the introduction of the wood-frame method the demolition and reconstruction of wooden buildings have continued. The Yakup Ağa Mansion was built in 1911 in Gerze/ Sinop The building, which was set on stone cellar walls, in three storeys with a wooden frame, is made up of two quarters. As time went by, the supporting frame weakened, leading to a partial collapse of the mansion, with the result that a project for the reconstruction of the mansion in reinforced concrete was approved, but never carried out. The mansion was expropriated in 2000 and restored in 2006. The restoration was done by paying attention to the preservation of original architectural elements, and the wood-frame was reinforced with partial renovations. In this paper, the consolidation, completion and reconstruction interventions carried out to preserve the wooden mansion will be analysed, with the aim of determining the degree of conservation of the aesthetic, historical evidence and authenticity values of the building.

Abstract: The Ahi Çelebi Mosque, which is among Istanbul’s oldest mosques, is located on the shores of the Golden Horn in the Eminönü. This mosque, which was very probably built by Ahi Çelebi towards the end of the 15th century, was restored during the 16th century by Architect Sinan. It is a stone building with a rectangular plan, single dome, with a rear congregational area/son cemaat yeri in front of its main space, and a cut stone minaret at its right corner. Damaged by fires and earthquakes during its long history, this building, set on reclaimed land, was restored and strengthened at various times through the years. In the 1980s, the building was unfavourably affected by the construction of the new Galata Bridge; it began to sink and slide towards the sea, with the result that it had to be supported with steel girdles as a temporary measure and was abandoned. In 2000, the General Directorate of Foundations had concrete pillars added underground to stabilise the base, and the sea water around the foundations was pumped out. During the last restoration carried out in 2005-2006, the main dome and walls were strengthened, the minaret was rebuilt, and the interior plaster and decorations were redone. In this study we shall make a general re-evaluation of the restoration work undertaken on the 500 year old Ahi Çelebi Mosque. We shall determine to what degree the structural interventions and, in particular, the contemporary interventions have been able to maintain the original materials, shapes, workmanship and period additions, and whether or not these are distinguishable, reversible and suitable to the aesthetics of the whole.