A TALE OF ULUS SQUARE: A CRITICAL ASSESSMENT OF CONTINUITY, TRANSFORMATION AND CHANGE IN A HISTORIC PUBLIC OPEN SPACE IN ANKARA

---

Tezin Türü: Doktora

Tezin Yürütüldüğü Kurum: Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi, Mimarlık Fakültesi, Mimarlık Bölümü, Türkiye

Tezin Onay Tarihi: 2018

Öğrenci: ELİF SELENA AYHAN KOÇYİĞİT

Danışman: NERİMAN ŞAHİN GÜÇHAN

Özet:

Historic cities – which are complex entities formed by continuous interaction between physical and human environment – are under the threat of rapid transformation due to the domestic and global economy and politics. As inseparable components of historic cities, public open spaces are one of the most vulnerable elements of this transformation. The lack of a detailed definition of historic public open spaces and a method for their conservation in current laws and regulations in Turkey, result in the rapid loss of their cultural significance. Moreover, most of the refunctioning, demolition, reconstruction and street rehabilitation works held by the public authorities have been causing an irreversible damage to the authenticity and integrity of historic public open spaces in Turkey. Among these historic public open spaces, Ulus Square that constitutes a symbolic meaning both for Ankara and Turkey and continuously functioned as one of the main centres of the city, is under a rapid transformation process mainly directed by the projects developed in the last decades. Therefore the thesis concentrates on the case of Ulus Square and tries to understand its story, as one of the most significant public open spaces in Ankara with a special emphasis on its emergence and transformation starting from the early 19th century until today. Through a detailed urban restitution study, the thesis aims to reveal the values ascribed in Ulus Square and to identify main factors causing or accelerating the change in values in time. With its systematic framework developed for the historical analysis, value assessment and identification of change factors, its approach and outcomes, the thesis would provide a basis for a deeper understanding and conservation of Ulus Square as well as other historic public open spaces in Turkey.