European Architectural History Network Thematic Conference: Architecture and Endurance, Ankara, Türkiye, 30 Eylül - 02 Ekim 2021, ss.84-85
Konak Square has been evolved for centuries and reached today’s spatial configuration,
especially with surrounding administrative, institutional, cultural, and commercial structures
obtained by architectural competitions between the 1950s and 1970s. SSK Blocks is one of these
competition sites adjacent to Konak Square, where historical Yellow Barracks were located.
Yellow Barracks were built in the 19th century to reinforce the administrative characteristics of
Konak Square, representing the “westernization” attempts of the Ottoman Empire after
Tanzimat, which was demolished in 1955.. Due to controversies surrounding the demolition, the
site remained empty for two decades until an architectural competition was held in 1966. The
winning entry, SSK Blocks, by Orhan Dinç was completed in 1976. SSK blocks as a multi-purpose
complex covering commercial, cultural, and business activities reflected the period’s modern
understanding. The permeability of the design builds a relationship between the historical
bazaar and the square by open terraces, courtyards, and passages.
In October 2020, a devastating earthquake in İzmir damaged several buildings around Konak
Square, the city’s historical and administrative center, and generated a debate in terms of the
durability of these buildings. The local government’s declaration of demolishing SSK Blocks and
other governmental buildings was criticized severely by NGOs in terms of city’s collective
memory. Konak district with historical Kemeraltı Bazaar is a ‘palimpsest’ with traces of
memories from different periods, including modern cultural heritage. Renewal of the buildings
in this multi-layered urban patch every half a century creates ruptures in city’s collective
memory. Therefore, this paper investigates the spatial features of SSK Blocks providing
permanence in the city, the endurance of modern architecture through daily life practices, and
its possible resistances in urban space. To probe collective memory and its resistance brought by
the building complex with material culture and daily rhythms of the public, oral history research
was conducted with actors experiencing SSK Blocks. Consequently, the study contributes to the
memory of everyday life of a modern building that could be resistant to the pace of change and
inquires whether SSK Blocks can break the cycle of demolitions contrary to Yellow Barracks.