Evaluation of Fortifications in terms of their Adaptive Re-Use Potential: II. World War Period Bunkers


Barış A., Dinç Kalaycı P.

3 RD INTERNATIONAL GRADUATE RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM - IGRS’24, İstanbul, Turkey, 8 - 10 May 2024, pp.78

  • Publication Type: Conference Paper / Summary Text
  • City: İstanbul
  • Country: Turkey
  • Page Numbers: pp.78
  • Gazi University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

Conservation is accepting the responsibility of the cultural accumulations and traces of humanity's yesterday and carrying them to tomorrow. The built environment is formed by an interconnected timespace chain in the historical process. Each link of this chain is an important part of the whole within historical continuity. In this respect, cultural assets should be transferred to the future in a correct and holistic manner. An important component of the built environment is fortification. Throughout the history of civilization, wars have been fought between various societies, parties and states. Over time, human societies have built many defensive structures to protect their property, borders and states. The historical development of fortifications also reflects the social, economic and technological development of societies. For this reason, fortifications have become a link that must be protected in the time-space chain. As a matter of fact, fortifications that have lost their function today are a part of multi-layered cultural heritage and social history. This study focuses on the adaptive re-use process of idle fortifications. When a building cannot be used with its original function, the building's current function changes to a new function. The concept of repurposing appears as a method of the conservation process. The re-functioning of fortifications are important in terms of establishing a sustainable interaction between society and social history. Within the scope of the study, three different air-raid shelters built during World War II and discussed re-used after the war. Although the selected shelters were built in the same period, they offer a perspective of different societies and different geographies that countries participated in World War II. In this context, "Kulturbunker" in Germany, "Muzeum Współczesne Wrocław" in Poland and "Sığınak: Sanat ve Teknoloji İçin Alan" in Turkey are discussed within the scope of the study. As a matter of fact, adaptive re-use process, the contemporary use of buildings adds a new layer and meaning to the building. On the other hand, the re-use of idle buildings, it is important the building fulfills the spatial needs correctly while it is important that the integrity of the urban texture and spatial identity should be preserved. The level of harmony between the new function and building adaptation makes sustainable the re-use of the buildings. The methodology of the study aims to test the spatial transformation within reuse through evaluation criteria. The model evaluates the scale of building interventions based on the environmental, spatial and technical parameters determined during the change of function. This evaluation model also provides data for subsequent adaptive re-use applications. The perspective offered by the examples of buildings with different scales of interventions makes it possible to analyze the re-use process comparatively. As a result, shelters that are revitalized with different functions, transform the built environment and the urban memory along with themselves.