Change of Common Spaces from Construction to Settlement: A Research on Housing Cooperatives Constructed in Ankara Between 1950-1980

Housing cooperatives, one of the forms of housing production from 1950 to 1980, differ from other forms of apartment-type housing in some aspects. Cooperative housings, with the principle of association, cover the housing acquirement processes for a community that comes together to meet the need for housing. This process is based on the association and similar preferences of all dwelling owners, regarding the production methods of cooperative houses and the housing acquisition processes, besides their architectural design and the housing characteristics. Large common areas and spaces offered by the architects in the cooperative housing areas built in Ankara between 1950 and 1980 enabled the owners of dwellings to come together and become stakeholders of spaces and time. Apartment buildings, which are the primary forms of housing production of the period, are seen as quick and simple solutions to housing needs and agents detaching the individual from the social context; while cooperative housings built in large settlements offer the user something beyond housing. Dwelling owners residing in cooperative housings have the experience of being a part of a community through its architectural design based on the principle of ‘common way of life’. In this context, the study examines the common spaces of cooperative housings built in Ankara between 1950 and 1980 and the current uses of these common spaces. The main aim of the study is to compare and analyze the common spaces designed by the architects and the current use of common spaces, and to try to understand the impact of the architectural design that offers large common spaces on the tendencies of the residents of the compound to use the common spaces. For this purpose, the role of architectural planning on social relations can also be questioned in the study. Since the research will take place through determined residential settlements, the study is designed as a case study. The sample of the study was selected using the criterion sample method among the types of purposive sampling, from cooperative structures built in Ankara between 1950 and 1980. The scope of the study was limited to 10 settlements that meet the criteria and the common places belonging to these settlements. During the research process, firstly the projects belonging to 10 settlements were accessed from the archives of the relevant institutions. Then, the common spaces designed by the architects were analyzed through the projects. In order to determine the current uses of the common areas identified in the projects of the settlements, the areas were marked on the project by going to the settlements. In this way, the common areas designed by the architect and the common areas used today were compared and the differences between them were mapped through projects. In the study with mapping, it was questioned that which common areas were designed by the architect; what changes took place in these areas that the user experiences today, and whether there were social areas that the users subsequently created together, unlike what the architect planned. According to the findings, in all 10 settlements surveyed, the architect left large and non-functional gaps; the volume covered by these areas was as important as the internal volume of the blocks. During visits to the settlements, it was concluded that 8 settlements had limited use of common spaces and common space; however, in the 2 settlements examined in the study (Yeşiltepe and Güneş settlements), the tendency to create and use common space was dominant. In these two settlements, it was found that the architect planned large and bright spaces inside the blocks, and the residents of the settlement also turned this area between the floors into a common space. It has been observed that these newly formed common areas are located in front of the doors as an external extension of the house and are used more intensively than the common areas created outside. Considering the gaps and common areas designed by the architect, it was found that the cooperative structures of this period had an architectural organization aimed at the coexistence of the residents of the campus; the architect encouraged the use of common space and the creation of new common spaces. In this context, it is thought that the success of the cooperative structures built in Ankara between 1950-1980 in the process of creating common living spaces and including the residents of the campus in this formation will shed light on today’s apartment-type housing production.

İnşadan İskâna Ortak Mekânların Değişimi: 1950-1980 Yılları Arasında Ankara’da İnşa Edilen Kooperatif Yapıları Üzerinden Bir Araştırma

1950-1980 yılları arasında konut üretim biçimlerinden biri olan kooperatif yapıları, diğer apartman tipi konut biçimlerinden farklı olarak, üretim yöntemlerinden mesken edinme süreçlerine, mimari tasarımlarından iskân özelliklerine tüm mesken sahiplerinin ortaklığı ve benzerliğine dayalı bir yapılanmayı içermektedir. Mesken sahiplerinin bir araya gelmesini, bir arada mekân ve zaman paydaşı olabilmesini öngören bu yapılanma; mimar tarafından geniş ortak alanların düşünüldüğü bir mimari planlamayı “ortak bir yaşam biçimi” olarak kullanıcısına sunmaktadır. Bu kapsamda bir durum çalışması olarak tasarlanan araştırmada, 1950-1980 yılları arasında Ankara’da inşa edilen kooperatif yapılarındaki ortak mekânlar ve ortak mekânların günümüzdeki kullanım durumları sorgulanmaktadır. Araştırmanın temel amacı mimarın tasarladığı ortak mekânlar ile ortak mekânların günümüzdeki kullanımlarını karşılaştırarak analiz etmek ve geniş ortak alanların düşünüldüğü bir mimari tasarımın yerleşke sakinlerinin ortak mekân kullanma eğilimleri üzerindeki etkisini anlamaya çalışmaktır. Bu amaç doğrultusunda, bu mimari planlamanın sosyal ilişkiler üzerindeki rolü de çalışma içinde sorgulanma olanağı bulmaktadır. Araştırmanın örneklemi, 1950-1980 yılları arasında Ankara’da inşa edilen kooperatif yapılarından amaçlı örneklem yöntemi ile belirlenen 10 yerleşke olarak belirlenmiştir. Bu yerleşkelerin projelerine ilgili kurumların arşivlerinden ulaşılmış; mimarın tasarladığı ortak mekânlar projeler üzerinden analiz edilmiştir. Yerleşkelerin projelerinde tespit edilen ortak alanların günümüzdeki kullanımları, yerleşkelere gidilerek yerinde araştırılmıştır. Bu karşılaştırmada ulaşılan bulgulara göre, ortak mekânların kullanımlarındaki farklılıklar projeler aracılığıyla haritalandırılmıştır.