District 3, Parcel 407 — Reconstruction Project

Condition Assessment

After the February 2023 earthquakes the building, which stands within the Antakya Urban Conservation Area, was severely damaged: the arched elevation facing the courtyard remained standing, while the upper floor structure and roof covering largely collapsed. The work was therefore conceived as a condition assessment that carries out, together, the measured documentation of the surviving parts and the reading of traces in the collapsed ones. Fractures in the structural system, vertical and horizontal displacements, material losses and the architectural elements that could be preserved in situ were each recorded separately; the spatial organisation and original architectural features of the building were reread by assessing them alongside archival documents and an oral history study. The limits of both the fabric to be preserved and the parts to be rebuilt were thus defined on documentary grounds.

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

Measured Survey

The surviving parts of the building were documented by measured survey. Floor plans, floor and ceiling plans, a roof plan, the street elevation and five sections from AA to EE were produced, and the stone elements, joinery and door details were additionally drawn at 1/20 scale.

The survey sheets record not only geometry but also material and decay information: stone masonry walls, fine dressed stone facing, ashlar surrounds and bağdadi partitions are shown with separate hatchings, while decay such as cracking, detachment, damp and vegetation growth is marked against a legend.

Drawings from the measured survey sheet that describe this stage

BasisVenice Charter art. 16 · Law No. 2863

Restitution

Restitution is the evidence-based reconstruction of the building’s original state before it was damaged. On this parcel the work rests on the 1929 Ville d’Antioche cadastral sheet, archive photographs, a comparative reading of similar buildings on neighbouring parcels 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

For the surviving parts, the principle of minimum intervention was taken as the basis: the arched courtyard elevation, the stone surrounds and the walls preserved in situ were retained and consolidated, while rebuilding was decided for the lost parts. Keeping the distinction between original and new legible was defined at the level of material and joint.

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 collapsed upper floor, roof covering and fallen walls have been rebuilt while preserving the original envelope, floor heights and facade order.

The rhythm of the arched courtyard elevation, the proportions of its openings and the arrangement of the stone surrounds have been drawn in keeping with the restitution data; the roof is defined with its original pitch and eaves projection and an alaturka tile covering.

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, cupboard and mahmel (niche) 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; all are hipped roofs clad in alaturka tiles. The eaves project over the street, giving shade and protecting the walls from rain. In this building the roof covering largely collapsed in the earthquake and was rebuilt in the reconstruction with its original pitch and eaves arrangement.

Arched Courtyard Elevation

The elevation facing the courtyard is built from a row of segmentally arched openings. The arcade both produces a shaded passage and defines the architectural identity of the courtyard. Although the upper floor collapsed in the earthquake, this arcade largely survived and became one of the strongest pieces of evidence for the restitution.

Arched and Flat Windows

The windows are double-leaf units built with box-section timber profiles; alongside straight-headed examples there are openings spanned by a segmental arch. The stone surround and sill define the detail where the opening meets the stone wall, and the upper-floor windows are protected by timber shutters.

The Courtyard’s External Stair

Access to the upper floor is by an external stone stair rising within the courtyard. The stair is not only a circulation element: the space beneath it becomes storage or a shaded area, and its landing becomes part of courtyard life. The wrought-iron balustrade joins the rhythm of the elevation.

The Courtyard — Centre of the House

The courtyard is the most important space in the house; through the long summer, much of daily life is spent there. In the plan it is central, working like a “sofa” hall that links every unit. The rooms are arranged on one, two or three sides of it.

Street Elevation and Silhouette

On the ground floor the thick walls are faced in fine dressed stone, with ashlar surrounds framing the openings. The blank street elevation gains rhythm from the upper-floor windows and the projecting eaves; in this language the building takes its place in the Gazipaşa Sokağı silhouette.