Ecological problems of restorated traditional settlements: a case study in kaleiçi (antalya)

Historical fabrics of the cities reflect the cultural backgrounds of the societies. For centuries in historical urban settlements formed via experiences the most appropriate structure type to the climatic conditions and the region, has been produced. With the industrial revolution, to be able to have more comfortable places in the settlement, fossil fuel based energy consumption began to be generally preferred. As a result, the ecological balance in the nature has begun to deteriorate in an irrevocable way. To find a solution for the situation, in ecological architecture and planning issues various ecological structure criteria is defined. Accordingly, buildings appropriate to the local and climatic characteristics are meant to be constructed besides the use of renewable energy sources and minimizing energy consumption. When historical city fabrics are analyzed in the ecological context, one can observe that these include sustainable structure characteristics. In order for the buildings to be renewed and restored in accordance with their original structures, great care should be given in terms of financial resource, manpower, material and control. Antalya Kaleiçi which was chosen as the working area was analyzed in terms of settlement structure, building form and structure cover, place organization, material choice, renewable, clean energy usage and water saving and usage and it was determined to have ecological, sustainable settlement characteristics. Traditional architecture samples which have been built by the people after trial and error for centuries and with the solutions appropriate to the climatic and environmental conditions are highly appropriate to the ecological design criteria as structures and settlements peculiar to the district. However the mistakes in the restoration of the buildings used for touristic aims after 1970s, adding of new necessary functions to the buildings, not taking care of the original structure and materials show that historical urban fabric of the city is faced with the danger of losing its ecological feature. In this study, Antalya-Kaleiçi historical urban settlement which was built in the context of the ecological design criteria and which has conventional houses that achieved to reach our day has been discussed. When houses with historical fabric which are experiencing a function shift to ensure sustainability in today's conditions are analyzed in terms of ecological design criteria, we will mention the sustainability of the criteria obtained in terms of availability and the problems faced with the restoration.

Ecological Architecture ,

Historical Cities ,

Restoration Problems ,

Antalya ,

Kaleiçi ,