Habitation, Developing Out of The Planning Area During The Period of Early Republic In Karabük: Bayır District

Abstract

The number of residential structures built in the Early Republican Period is decreasing day by day. Considering that the history of housing is as old as the history of humanity and that housing has changed both functionally and structurally with every sociological change, it is important to examine the Early Republican Period residences that reflect the changing lifestyle of a period. In this context, it was deemed important that the structures of this period, which were built in Karabük province, which was established with the Republic and known as the “City of the Republic”, should also be the subject of research.

Housing history has been a concept that has been wondered and researched in every region in every period. Along with the formation of the house, its development, transformation and use are also areas that are wide enough to be a separate research subject and will arouse interest. In 1937, Karabük, which experienced its first significant population increase with the laying of the foundations of Karabük Iron-Steel Factory, has been a center of continuous development, growth and population density due to the increase in factors such as the change in the administrative structure, urbanization, the growth of the factory, the increase in transportation facilities, and the increase in trade.

Another important factor in the development of Karabük is the realization of industry-related housing production built by Sümerbank, which still exists today as Yenişehir Neighborhood and continues to be a residential area. Urban planning and urbanization were put into planning and practice as a modern idea belonging to the Republic of Turkey. During this period, many teams including local and foreign experts were commissioned to prepare reports and urban plans for the capital Ankara. In 1937, after Istanbul, the architect Martin Wagner came to Karabük (which was a part of Zonguldak province in those years) and with the foresight of a planned growth, the opinions of architect Martin Wagner were taken and a Partial Zoning Plan was prepared by architect/urban planner Henri Prost.

It is of great importance to identify, analyze and ultimately preserve the works that were captured in the 1940s and where we can see successful examples of modern architecture. This should apply not only to Yenişehir, which was designed as part of the city plan, but also to the areas where similar modern buildings were produced by taking Yenişehir as an example.

In this study, it has been determined that there are buildings similar to the characteristics of Early Republican Period residential architecture within the borders of Bayır Neighborhood, where housing production was realized under the influence of Yenişehir Neighborhood despite its unplanned development. It can be said that the buildings in Bayır Neighborhood catch up with their contemporaries in terms of building entrances, facade features and settlements. It has been observed that the idea of modernization, which is the ideology of the Republic, was also adopted by the people and reflected in the construction processes of their buildings. The fact that design concerns were taken into consideration in this neighborhood, which developed outside the planning area and was established with the aim of meeting the housing need, suggests that this region was shaped by the modern and educated people of the period. In this way, our study on Bayır Neighborhood is a first of its kind.