Construction processes and techniques in traditional Birgi houses: a typical Ottoman settlement


DİRİ AKYILDIZ F., ŞAHİN GÜÇHAN N., Aktaş Y. D.

Journal of Architectural Conservation, vol.30, no.1, pp.77-102, 2024 (AHCI) identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 30 Issue: 1
  • Publication Date: 2024
  • Doi Number: 10.1080/13556207.2024.2328925
  • Journal Name: Journal of Architectural Conservation
  • Journal Indexes: Arts and Humanities Citation Index (AHCI), Scopus, Academic Search Premier, Periodicals Index Online, Art Abstracts, Art Index, Art Source, Avery, Design & Applied Arts Index, Humanities Abstracts, ICONDA Bibliographic, Index Islamicus
  • Page Numbers: pp.77-102
  • Keywords: Construction technique, masonry with tiebeam, Ottoman hımış houses, timber frame, traditional West Anatolian houses
  • Middle East Technical University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

The historic town of Birgi is a historic settlement within İzmir, Turkey, included in the UNESCO Tentative List of World Heritage Sites in 2012. Traditional Birgi houses, dated to the second half of the 18th and the beginning of the 20th century, are one of the best-representative and best-preserved examples of the hımış houses–the most common housing typology of the Ottoman Period. These hybrid structures include a masonry ground floor and timber frame upper floors as their primary load-bearing systems, with details shaped in line with the regional material availability and the performance of these materials, as well as technical know-how and the local experience of major historic fires and earthquakes. In this study, authentic construction techniques used in the West Anatolian Ottoman houses and information about the construction processes are presented through Birgi's traditional houses. For this aim, a visual examination and documentation of various hımış sub-typologies representative of different construction periods are conducted. The differences in construction details are evaluated in light of the predominant architectural styles and technological possibilities of their construction periods. In addition, the strengths and weaknesses of authentic construction techniques and common construction errors are discussed.