District 3, Parcel 333 — Reconstruction Project

Condition Assessment

The building, which stands within the Antakya Urban Conservation Area, was severely damaged in the earthquakes of 6 February 2023: room 1-01 on the first floor and the stair leading up to it collapsed completely, and parts of the ground floor ceiling caved in. Debris removal began before conditions safe enough to take measurements inside the building had been established, and after that operation only two walls on the northeast elevation of rooms Z-04 and Z-05 remained standing. Examination of the remaining walls exposed the foundation of the building, and the current ground level was found to lie below both the existing floor and the foundation level. The work therefore does not constitute a damage assessment in the conventional sense: it was conceived as a condition assessment focused on recording architectural data that was about to be lost, in the short time still available.

BasisVenice Charter art. 16 · Law No. 2863 · Regional Conservation Board notification

Measured Survey — Point Cloud Scanning

In the short time available just before debris removal began, only the courtyard-facing elevations of the building could be measured by point cloud scanning, and photographs and video were taken inside. That scan is the most reliable dimensional record we now have of the lost building.

The elements whose dimensions could be read precisely from the scan include the courtyard and its pool, the courtyard elevations of rooms Z-02 and Z-03, the entire courtyard elevation of room Z-04, the northwest elevation of room Z-05, the bird niches, the glazed timber doors and windows and the built-in cupboards. The survey project was drawn as a partial measured survey in the light of this data, the parcel information taken from the map extract, aerial photographs and the dimensions of the walls remaining after the debris was cleared.

Drawings from the measured survey sheet that describe this stage

BasisVenice Charter art. 16 · Charter for the Protection of the Archaeological Heritage

Restitution

Restitution is the evidence-based reconstruction of the building’s original state before the earthquake. On this parcel the work rests on the point cloud scan, interior photographs taken before the earthquake, the 1929 Ville d’Antioche cadastral sheet and an oral history study.

On the sheet, every restitution decision is marked against a three-level reliability legend: decisions confirmed by traces in the building and by period documents are shown as first degree, those based on comparative study of similar buildings as second degree, and those for which there is insufficient data and which remain proposals as third degree. It therefore stays legible on the drawing which information rests on evidence and which on interpretation.

Plan and elevation decisions from the restitution sheet

BasisVenice Charter art. 9–13 · Nara Document on Authenticity

Restoration Decisions

As no original fabric survived apart from two standing walls, the conservation decisions turned towards defining the original qualities of the building to be rebuilt. The walls were determined as stone masonry, the facades as fine dressed stone facing, the internal partitions as bağdadi lath-and-plaster, and the covering as alaturka tiles over a timber structure.

Material and construction-system decisions

BasisVenice Charter art. 9–12 · Law No. 2863

Reconstruction

The reconstruction project defines the rebuilding of the original configuration established in the restitution, together with current building-safety requirements. The courtyard with its pool, the kitchen, living room, bedroom and other rooms arranged around it, and the room on the upper floor have all been rebuilt in keeping with the original plan scheme.

The glazed timber doors, sash windows, shutters and bird niches on the courtyard elevation have been redefined exactly, using dimensions taken from the point cloud scan; the hipped roof has been built with its original eaves levels.

Elevations and sections from the reconstruction sheet

BasisVenice Charter art. 15 · Riga Charter · Regional Conservation Board approval

Construction and Supervision

The construction stage is the process of producing the exact counterpart of the approved project on site. Door, window, built-in cupboard and stair details were drawn at working scale, and the frame, sill and stone-wall junction details of the timber joinery were defined individually.

Traditional construction details at working scale

BasisVenice Charter art. 16 · Construction supervision and archiving

Hipped Roof Clad in Alaturka Tiles

Because Antakya has heavy rainfall, roofs are steep and pitched, covered with alaturka tiles laid over a timber structure. In this building the eaves levels could be read precisely from the point cloud scan, while the ridge levels were completed as inferred values.

Glazed Timber Doors

The doors opening from the courtyard into the rooms are glazed timber doors with a fanlight above them for light. The main entrance to the courtyard itself is a timber door with an ashlar lintel, set within a plastered surface.

Timber Sash Windows and Shutters

The windows are timber sash units, protected on the outside by timber shutters and completed above by a fanlight. All of these elements could be measured from the point cloud scan taken before the debris was removed.

Bird Niches (Kuş Takası)

On the elevation facing the courtyard there are bird niches set beneath the eaves. These small recesses, which shelter birds, are not merely functional: they set the rhythm of the elevation and are an ornamental element particular to the Antakya house.

Courtyard with a Pool

The courtyard is the most important space in the house; in this building it has a pool at its centre. The pool brings coolness in the summer heat, and the kitchen, living room, bedroom and other rooms around it all open onto this void. In the plan, the courtyard works like a “sofa” hall that links every unit.

Stone Masonry Wall and Street Silhouette

The walls are stone masonry with facades faced in fine dressed stone, while the internal partitions are bağdadi lath-and-plaster. The blank street elevation stands in complete contrast to the rich elevation facing the courtyard — the logic of the Antakya house, closed to the outside and open inwards, is clearly legible on this parcel.