Re-Functionalization of Historical Church Buildings in the Eastern Black Sea Region


Kepenek E., Haştemoğlu H. Ş.

Akdeniz Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi, sa.11, ss.116-145, 2022 (Hakemli Dergi)

Özet

Re-functionalization of the historical buildings, which have completed their service life, but not the structural functions, is done from the past till now at all times. In order to use the building for a longer period new functions have been installed in old buildings throughout the history. In the past it is seen that tissues of cities changes in time slowly, apart from the natural disasters and wars. In fact until the industrial revolution it is possible to state that demolition of the buildings by people is nearly not an evident issue. However, this situation has changed in our day, in case of the provision of the economic viability; construction of new buildings instead of the demolished old buildings has become very common. In the case of turkey; beyond the re-functionalization of preserved historical buildings, this approach covers a quite small place inside the whole construction sector. On the other hand, it is observed that the approaches that preserves the building in terms of structure only by restoring without re-functionalizing, turns the buildings in to objects to be “observed” and monuments to be forgotten in time. The churches that viewed in the study were chosen as preserved or probable preserved building group. East Black Sea Region is, in the history of Anatolia, the reason why it is affected by the different Christian civilizations of Greek, Armenian and Georgian, a unique place in terms of church architecture. The churches that were constructed by influencing each other from the early Christian Period till the Modern Age, after wars, migrations, and exchanges, have largely lost their congregations. In the study, 169 church structures that have been found to be able to survive today were examined in site, the present conditions were recorded and the possibilities of re-functioning were investigated. It is aimed to construct a base for the further studies and create awareness about the building stock that does not exist in the literature wholly, regarding to their significance in terms of the tourism and history of the region and Turkey.