Changes in built environment and in vernacular architecture through globalization: Case of Battalgazi in Turkiye

Mucahit Yildirim () and Mahir Korkmaz

ERSA conference papers from European Regional Science Association

Abstract: Housing and its architectural characteristics physically change in step with changes in culture, social demographics, behavior and environmental structures. These physical changes influence the environment and housing because of contemporary life-styles and behaviors. The cultural identity which has been created in a long period of time is going to be lost rapidly. Cultural changes also include migration. The migration from rural areas to the downtowns causes variety in traditions and the architectural spaces. The cultural environment consists of such elements, each are affecting the evolution of the culture. These are religion, belief systems, ecology, economy and the social aspects like family structures, and cultural interaction. Vernacular architecture is a manifestation, a physical representation of the culture of a people. Malatya-Battalgazi which is the oldest habitation area in Anatolia is among the downtowns that losing its cultural identity. The civil architecture in the town has suffered but the religious architecture is nearly conserved related with the beliefs. The history of Battalgazi, which is called as Old Malatya till to 1988, goes to ancient times. The first habitation of Malatya is the artificial hill called Aslantepe in the boundary of village Bahçebaþý. Strabon, the ancient times geographer, called Malatya as Melitene. Town cannot betray its identity in nowadays. The lack of preservation consciousness, changes in the culture and searching the contemporary life style comfort in the new built environment cause deterioration on the built environment. The cultural identities are going to be disappeared in front of globalization. In Battalgazi, with the impact of the new built environment, the people want to live in new structures to have “contemporary life style†abandoning the vernacular houses. One of them is Poyrazlar House which shows the characteristics of vernacular houses that oriented with two storeys due to the bigness of the patriarchal family. The foundation of the house was constructed from stone and the wall was from mud brick. The flooring was created from wood sticks and the covering from old tile. In the upper-floor there are the recess, living room and bed room, in ground-floor; the kitchen, toilet and the stable. The recess was used as the connection space of the rooms in the upper floor. The ornamented elevation looks to the courtyard and with a bay to the street. This paper aims to research the changes in cultural, socio-economic technological conditions in the built environment and vernacular architecture within the case of Battalgazi-Turkey Keywords: Globalization, culture, vernacular architecture, sustainability.

Date: 2012-10
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ara and nep-his
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