YAŞAR UNIVERSITY

GRADUATE SCHOOL

MASTER THESIS

URBAN VOIDS AS URBAN INTERIORS:

THE CASE OF BASMANE, İZMİR

NİLAY ALTINAY

THESIS ADVISOR: PROF.(PHD) HAVVA MELTEM GÜREL

INTERIOR ARCHITECTURE

PRESENTATION DATE: 06.07.2022

BORNOVA / İZMİR
JULY 2022
We certify that, as the jury, we have read this thesis and that in our opinion it is fully
adequate, in scope and in quality, as a thesis for the degree of Master of Science.

Jury Members: Signature:

Prof. (PhD) Havva Meltem GÜREL

Yaşar University .......................

Assoc.Prof. (PhD) Zeynep TUNA ULTAV

Yaşar University .......................

Assoc. Prof. (PhD) Özge CORDAN

İstanbul Techical University .....................

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Prof. (PhD) Yücel Öztürkoğlu
Director of the Graduate School

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 ABSTRACT

URBAN VOIDS AS URBAN INTERIORS:

THE CASE OF BASMANE, IZMIR

Altınay, Nilay
MSc, Interior Architecture
Advisor: Prof. (PhD) Havva Meltem GÜREL
July 2022

Urban interiors are places that people use as common spaces to carry on everyday
activities such as eating, drinking, and socializing. In these spaces, such activities flow
into the streets blurring the boundaries between the inside and the outside space. In
this respect, urban interiors are important in bringing users together at the intersection
of urban and interior space while offering spaces that allow users to socialize.

The thesis conceptualizes spaces between buildings as urban voids in connection to

the notions of interiority, public interiors, and blurring boundaries between interior
and exterior spaces. The site of the study is İzmir’s Basmane district, which is chosen
within the scope of more differentiated in socio-cultural terms, especially with
migration, and has caused quite different discussions in terms of architecture and urban
characteristics which ensure diverse voids. In the context of its current conditions,
Basmane is a part of the city that cannot integrate with the rest of the city due to the
changing social and physical dynamics over time. The study firstly made a literature
review on the concept of urban interior space. Then, a solid-void analysis is made to
define the urban interior spaces. With the sketches and photographs produced after the
site visits, these urban interiors were examined in two categories according to their
physical characteristics and spatial practices. As a result, the practices between
buildings with the concept of interiority and the blurring of the boundaries between
interior and exterior spaces are examined in the Basmane area.

keywords: Urban Interior, Urban Voids, Spatial Practices, Interiority, Basmane

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 ÖZ

KENTSEL İÇ MEKANLAR OLARAK KENTSEL BOŞLUKLAR:

BASMANE, IZMIR

Altınay, Nilay
Yüksek Lisans Tezi, İç Mimarlık
Danışman: Prof. Dr. Havva Meltem GÜREL
Temmuz 2022

Kentsel iç mekân, kentlerde ortak yaşam alanlarının kullanıcılar tarafından

öznelleştirilerek içselleştirildiği mekânlardır. Gündelik hayatta yeme, içme,
sosyalleşme gibi yaşamsal aktiviteler sokağa taşmıştır. Bu çerçevede kavram, kent ve
iç mekân arakesitinde kullanıcıları bir araya getirip toplumun sosyalleşmesine imkan
verecek mekânlar sunması açısından önemlidir.

Bu çalışma, binalar arasındaki boşlukları, iç mekan, kamusal iç mekanlar ve iç ve dış

mekanlar arasındaki bulanık sınır kavramlarıyla bağlantılı olarak kentsel boşluklar
olarak kavramsallaştırır. Çalışmanın yeri, göçle birlikte sosyo-kültürel açıdan
farklılaşan ve çeşitli boşluklar sağlayan; mimari ve kentsel özellikler açısından farklı
tartışmalara neden olan İzmir ’ in Basmane ilçesidir. Basmane, mevcut koşulları
bağlamında, zamanla değişen sosyal ve fiziksel dinamikler nedeniyle şehrin geri
kalanıyla bütünleşemeyen, kendi içine dönük ve çok katmanlı bir iç bölge olarak
gelişmiştir. Çalışma, bu çerçevede öncelikle kentsel iç mekân kavramı üzerinden bir
literatür taraması yapar. Ardından, kentsel boşlukları tanımlamak için bir doluluk -
boşluk analizi yapılarak, çalışma alanındaki fiziksel ve mekânsal özellikleri esas alan
bir gruplandırma yapılmıştır. Bu alanlardaki mekân pratikleri alanın çağdaş değerlerini,
özgün kimliğini ve kentsel iç mekân olarak tekrardan üretilme potansiyelini anlamak
için gözlemlenmiş; fotoğraflama ve eskiz üretimi yoluyla bir kentsel iç mekân okuması
yapılmıştır. Araştırma sonucunda, şehrin merkezinde yer almasına rağmen kopuk bir
bölge olan Basmane’de, içsellik kavramı ile yapılar arası pratikler, iç ve dış mekânlar
arasındaki sınırların bulanıklaşması incelenmiştir.

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Anahtar Kelimeler: Kentsel İç Mekan, Kentsel Boşluk, Mekansal Pratikler, İçsellik,
Basmane

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First, I would like to thank my advisor, Meltem Havva Gürel, for her guidance, support,
and tolerance. Without her assistance, I would struggle to find a method for my
research and complete this study.

I would like to thank Müge Sever for her academic and personal contribution to
through this thesis. She enlightened the process of my work with her intense
contribution.

I would like to thank Studio Evren Başbuğ Architects for giving me the time and
support to complete my thesis.

I am really lucky to have my family support me during my study. When I got stressed,
they never stopped to support me with continuous encouragement. Lastly, I would
want to use this chance to express my gratitude for having such supportive friends and
my dear Harry throughout this period. I could not have progressed without their
unending encouragement in whatever I do.

Nilay Altınay
İzmir, 2022

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 TEXT OF OATH

I declare and honestly confirm that my study, titled “URBAN VODIS AS URBAN
INTERIOR: THE CASE STUDY OF BASMANE, İZMİR” and presented as a
Master’s Thesis, has been written without applying to any assistance inconsistent with
scientific ethics and traditions. I declare, to the best of my knowledge and belief, that
all content and ideas drawn directly or indirectly from external sources are indicated
in the text and listed in the list of references.

Nilay Altınay
August 4, 2022

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................ v

ÖZ .......................................................................................................................................... vii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................................... ix

TEXT OF OATH .................................................................................................................... xi

TABLE OF CONTENTS...................................................................................................... xiii

LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................... xv

LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................................ xix

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................. 1

1.1. Problem Definition ......................................................................................................... 1
1.2. Aim of the Study ............................................................................................................ 2
1.3. Methodology .................................................................................................................. 3
1.4. Structure of the Study ..................................................................................................... 4

CHAPTER 2 SPACES BETWEEN BUILDINGS AS URBAN PUBLIC INTERIOR ......... 7

2.1. Concept of “Interior”, “Exterior” and “In-between” ...................................................... 7
2.2. Concept of “Interiority” ............................................................................................... 11
2.3. Urban Interiors as Public Spaces .................................................................................. 19
2.3.1. Public Space ......................................................................................................... 21
2.3.2. Public Interior ...................................................................................................... 24
2.3.3. Internalization of Urban Space and Urban Interiority .......................................... 29
2.3.4. Urban Interiors through the Human Scale ........................................................... 34
2.3.5. Practices of Interior-Making ................................................................................ 36
2.3.6. The Uses of Space ................................................................................................ 48

CHAPTER 3 SITE OF STUDY: Basmane ........................................................................... 53

3.1. Demographic Structure of Basmane............................................................................. 58
3.2. Physical Characteristics of Basmane ............................................................................ 62
3.3. Building Stock in Basmane .......................................................................................... 66
3.4. The Focus Area: Anafartalar Street in Basmane District ............................................. 70

CHAPTER 4 PRACTICES IN SPACES BETWEEN BUILDINGS: BASMANE .............. 75

4.1. Physical Characteristics................................................................................................ 76
4.2. Spatial Practices ........................................................................................................... 92

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CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSION .............................................................................................. 103

REFERENCES ..................................................................................................................... 107

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 LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 2.1. Inside and outside relationship ............................................................................. 9

Figure 2.2. Box in the box schematics .................................................................................. 10

Figure 2.3. In between space as an intersection of the inside and outside ............................ 10

Figure 2.4. Taxonomy of interiority Shematics .................................................................... 14

Figure 2.5. Psychological public interiority, Knoxville, Tennessee .................................... 15

Figure 2.6. Form-based public interiority, Knoxville, Tennessee ........................................ 16

Figure 2.7. Atmospheric public interiority, Schermerhorn Symphony Center in USA ........ 16

Figure 2.8. Programmatic public interiority, Cișmigiu Park, Romania ............................... 17

Figure 2.9. Nolli Map............................................................................................................ 26

Figure 2.10. Collective outdoor as public interior. Wow, Canal Swimmer’s Club .............. 28

Figure 2.11. Urban section sketches.. ................................................................................... 30

Figure 2.12. Urban section sketches.. ................................................................................... 31

Figure 2.13. Urban interior containers. Adapted from Urban Interior: Taksim Square and
Cumhuriyet Street Underpass ................................................................................ 31

Figure 2.14. Camillo Sitte’s illustration, The Birth of Modern City Planning ..................... 33

Figure 2.15. Weinthal’s Diagram .......................................................................................... 36

Figure 2.16. The REAL estate, AL/Arch, Bat Yam, Israel, 2012. ........................................ 38

Figure 2.17. Urban Interior, Piano City, MUID-II, Milano .................................................. 38

Figure 2.18. ‘‘Please be seated’’, London Design Festival, 2019......................................... 39

Figure 2.19. Potential Urban Interior Spaces, Berlin, Germany ........................................... 41

Figure 2.20. Left: Alice Kohler’s Interior Plan. Right: Alice Kohler Photograph of street
vendor..................................................................................................................... 42

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Figure 2.21. Left: Sharn Lim Street vendor, Taipei. Right: A Beverage Vendor, Taipei.. ... 43

Figure 2.22. Courtyard and terraces as urban interiors, Mardin Turkey. .............................. 44

Figure 2.23. Street Wedding, İzmir ....................................................................................... 45

Figure 2.24. Light in the Back Streets, San Paulo, Brezilya, 2012........................................ 46

Figure 2.25. Eşrefpaşa Street Market, İzmir .......................................................................... 47

Figure 2.26. Urban Interior, Historical Çınaraltı, Çengelköy, İstanbul, 2011. ...................... 47

Figure 2.27. Piazza del Campo, Siena as urban living room. ................................................ 49

Figure 2.28. Relationship between the quality of outdoor spaces and the rate of event of
outdoor activities..................................................................................................... 51

Figure 3.1. Konak City Border .............................................................................................. 54

Figure 3.2. Danger-Prost Plan, Radial boulevards and triangular squares. ........................... 55

Figure 3.3. Basmane and its immediate surroundings. .......................................................... 57

Figure 3.4. Camel caravans on Anafartalar Street (Keçeciler), Basmane, 1900 ................... 58

Figure 3.5. The physical characteristics of the southern parts of Basmane ........................... 63

Figure 3.6. 2nd Stage work area Anafartalar Street ............................................................... 65

Figure 3.7. Cultural attraction points and building stock on Anafartalar Street .................... 69

Figure 3.8. Anafartalar Street ................................................................................................ 71

Figure 3.9. Problem-Potential Map of Anafartalar Street 2nd Stage Region ........................ 72

Figure 4.1. Anafartalar Street, Solid-Void Map .................................................................... 77

Figure 4.2. Single Plane.. ....................................................................................................... 79

Figure 4.3. Single Plane, Flooring separated from street level .............................................. 79

Figure 4.4. U-Shaped.. ........................................................................................................... 80

Figure 4.5. U-Shaped form, Narrow streets ........................................................................... 81

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Figure 4.6. C-Shaped form, Anafartalar Street ..................................................................... 82

Figure 4.8. Left: Tunnels form, Anafartalar Street Right: Wires in narrow Street ............... 83

Figure 4.9. Multiple Planes.. ................................................................................................. 84

Figure 4.10. Left: Multiple planes with column Right: Multiple overhead planes created with
fabrics and eaves in Anafartalar Street ................................................................... 85

Figure 4.11. Dead-end........................................................................................................... 86

Figure 4.12. Left: Dead-End, Anafartalar Street Right: Dead-End, Back street of the region
................................................................................................................................ 86

Figure 4.13. Home entrances as Threshold, Anafartalar Street ............................................ 87

Figure 4.14. Doorsteps as Threshold, Anafartalar Street ...................................................... 88

Figure 4.15. Niches between buildings, Anafartalar Street .................................................. 89

Figure 4.16. Corner type. ...................................................................................................... 90

Figure 4.17. Corner Type, Left: Parking Lot Right: Hatuniye Square as a Corner Urban
Interior .................................................................................................................... 90

Figure 4.18. Street Corner Type ........................................................................................... 91

Figure 4.19. Street Vendors, Necessary activities ................................................................ 94

Figure 4.20. Anafartalar Street shopping, Necessary activities ............................................ 96

Figure 4.21. Coffee shop fronts, Optional Activities ............................................................ 97

Figure 4.22. Hatuniye Square as urban living room, Optional activities, Resultant (social)
Activities, Necessary Activities ............................................................................... 99

Figure 4.23. Doorsteps, Resultant(social) Activities ........................................................... 100

Figure 4.24. Hanging laundry, internalization of the street ................................................ 101

Figure 4.25. Doorsteps and vacant lots as children’s playgrounds, Resultant (social) Activities
.............................................................................................................................. 101

xvii
 LIST OF TABLES

Table 1. Number of Registrations under Temporary Protection by Districts........................ 60

xix
 CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION

1.1. Problem Definition

In recent years, conceptual studies on interior space show that the boundary between
interior and exterior spaces has become increasingly blurred and even crossed into
each other with respect to everyday life practices. With the transfer of everyday life to
the streets, many activities such as sitting on doorsteps, eating, drinking, and playing
create temporary spaces that serve various functions in an urban environment. This
transfer between the interior and the exterior overflows into the spaces between
buildings and creates a third zone there. The transition zone in between has revealed
the concept of the “urban interior”, which is at the intersection of urban and interior
space concepts. This thesis focuses on the users’ internalization of spaces between
buildings as urban interiors through their everyday practices. Izmir’s Basmane region
is analyzed within the scope of the following questions: What are the physical and
material characteristics of urban voids within the scope of the Basmane area? How and
by whom are these spaces used? What is their potential in enhancing the quality of
urban life?

In response to these questions, the concepts of the interior, exterior interiority, in-
between, and urban interiors as discussed in architectural literature are closely studied.
Although interior design and urban design do not have much in common, historical
and theoretical linkages connect the two. Conceptually, the understanding of interior
space urges us to question the spatial and temporal relations between the interior and
exterior and the nature of “space” in the context of public urban environments.
According to Henri Lefebvre (1991), space in the public sphere is produced due to
people’s everyday routines and practices. Space cannot be thought of independently
from social practices. Urban existences, such as everyday routines and the use of time,
combine to generate spatial practices inside “perceived space.” Spatial practices that
emerge from the reproduction of space with the routines and experiences of a society

1
in daily life enable each society to create its own unique spaces. In this context, the
spatial practices and physical characteristics of the Basmane region, known for its
socio-cultural and spatial diversity, will be discussed through the concept of urban
interior space.

Throughout its history, Izmir’s Basmane district has accommodated displaced people
and migrant populations. In recent years, it has been layered due to intense migration,
especially after the Syrian war (2011-2015). Basmane has been acknowledged and
referred to as a new refugee center. As a result of both domestic and international
migrations of disadvantaged people, Basmane has been undergoing a physical and
socio-cultural transformation. This situation has visually and perceptually led to the
formation of a multi-layered, fragmented, and unpredictable urban order. As a result,
even though Basmane is in the heart of the city, it has been socially cast out of the
center and unable to integrate with the rest of the city and its patterns, creating an inner
life of its own. The “lived spaces” in Basmane are social areas of everyday life whose
appearance and significance have evolved throughout time. In other words, it is the
social space where human actions, emotions, and contradictions exist (Lefebvre, 1991,
p.291).

With this understanding, the study argues that the investigation of urban interiors in
Basmane cannot be considered apart from user activity and cannot be separated from
the “lived space.” Accordingly, the approach here aims to decipher the physical
characteristics of voids between buildings as urban interiors while understanding their
spatial practices.

1.2. Aim of the Study

This thesis aims to propose a new perspective on the way we may spatially understand
the interior-exterior relationship by examining urban voids between buildings and their
practices as public spaces in Basmane, which accommodates disadvantaged
populations of locals and migrants. The study firstly focuses on exploring and
categorizing public spaces in Basmane within the framework of urban interiors and
their physical characteristics. Secondly, everyday activities and the processes that led
to the establishment of these spaces are investigated.

2
The study argues that amid the discussions on Basmane’s development as a touristic
area through the planning offices of the municipality and others, it is important to take
into consideration the district's physical character and demographic structure that gives
the area its uniqueness. Furthermore, the study suggests assessing the existing
conditions as a merit rather than a disadvantage when producing plans for the area.
Avoiding top-down interventions first and foremost requires an understanding of the
physical characteristics of space as well as the interaction of space and people.
Therefore, the study sets out to analyze these spatial characteristics by conceptualizing
the voids between buildings as urban interiors that are appropriated by the users in the
area. Here, the concept of urban interior serves to read the relationship between people
and spaces: that is, the social production of spaces beyond their physical
characteristics, through the internalization of the area in everyday uses by the local
inhabitants.

The study explains the spaces between buildings through architectural concepts and
examines the everyday practices of these defined spaces. In this sense, it refers to
recognizing the cultural background of the place and understanding its connection with
the user via interior and exterior concepts. This is based on the stance that urban
interiors have the potential to generate a sense of spatial belonging, which in turn
improve the quality of life in cities.

1.3. Methodology

This thesis explores the concept of the urban interior to offer a new perspective to our
understanding of the Basmane area and its prospective planning. Therefore, the study
first aims to unpack the concept of the urban interior as public space as well as the
dialectic between the interior and exterior through a literature review. This review
includes published books, academic databases, papers, and articles. Second, a solid-
void analysis is conducted to identify and evaluate Basmane's urban voids. This
analysis allows for the interpretation of the voids between the buildings as urban
interior spaces. The focus of this study is Anafartalar Street, the main axis of the
Basmane district, and its immediate surrounding. The identified urban spaces are
grouped according to their physical characteristics based on, but not limited to, Frank
Ching's (1996) horizontal and vertical planes that define spaces. Additionally, Edward

3
T. White (1999) states that the internal parts of an urban setting are classified as
containers. A container is a spatial volume, a space surrounded by boundary elements
that determine the limits of a particular space. White (1999) divides spatial volume
typologies into nine categories with using Ching’s horizontal and verticle planes.
According to this categorization, there are nine main types of spaces: single plane, L-
shaped, U-shaped, corner, dead-end, C-shaped, enclosed, multiple planes, and tunnel.
Areas with different spatial characteristics, which are frequently seen in Basmane,
have been added to these types. They include doorsteps, niches, and street corners.
These spatial categories and their everyday practices were observed and recorded by
photographing and sketching in the area. Observations were utilized to comprehend
and perceive users' behavior and interaction with physical surroundings. So, everyday
life on Anafartalar Street was recorded over four days, weekends and weekdays, in
three different time periods: 09:00 - 10:00 / 13:00-14:00 / 17:00-18:00. Depending on
the time of day and week, different spatial uses have been determined. Sketches were
used to express the spatial definitions achieved through the uses of vertical and
horizontal planes. They served to better understand the spatial formations in Basmane.
The sketches also show how the local inhabitants use these specific physical spaces in
their everyday lives. These sketches were evaluated by categorizing public space
activities in Jan Gehl's book Life Between Buildings (1987). According to Gehl (1987,
p. 11), outdoor activities and their quality can be specified into three categories:
necessary activities, optional activities, and resultant (social) activities.
Accommodating such activities, urban public spaces form a social platform by
bringing people together in daily life.

This study evaluates the multi-layered Basmane region from a micro-scale perspective.
In this sense, the thesis conveys the region's value to the forefront by demonstrating
the spaces' everyday uses, dynamics, and practices while dealing with the urban
interiors.

1.4. Structure of the Study

This thesis is composed of five chapters, including the introduction and conclusion
chapters. The introduction chapter defines the problem and states the aim of the thesis.
It also gives information about the method of the study and its structure. Chapter 2,
first, conveys a literature review, discussing the concept of the urban interior and its

4
methods from several different perspectives. The concept of the urban interior is an
interdisciplinary concept, which does not have a single definition. Accordingly, its
different aspects are highlighted as the notions of the interior, exterior, interiority, and
in-between are utilized in explaining the practices between buildings. In this chapter,
definitions made on urban interior space are examined through different perspectives
and the conventional understanding of interior-exterior relationship is challenged.
While evaluating the examples, the reasons for the organization of the spaces, how
they are constructed, and their effects on usage are investigated. The network of
relations between the notion of the urban interior and interior spatiality, explored
within the scope of the thesis, are also discussed in this section. In Chapter 3, the
history, demographic features, physical structure, and building stock of Basmane are
investigated. A solid-void analysis is conducted to identify and analyze the urban voids
in Basmane in Chapter 4. This analysis, conducted along Anafartalar Street, the main
axis of Basmane, and its immediate surroundings, enables us to understand the spaces
between the buildings as urban interior spaces. In this manner, the spaces between the
buildings in the Basmane area, their physical characteristics, and everyday spatial
practices are examined. As a result, beyond the physical properties of the spaces, the
chapter discusses the appropriation of the spaces between buildings through everyday
practices of the persons and communities that use them.

5
 CHAPTER 2
SPACES BETWEEN BUILDINGS AS URBAN PUBLIC INTERIOR

2.1. Concept of “Interior”, “Exterior” and “In-between”

The major focus of this thesis is to understand the nature of interior and exterior spaces,
the differences between them as well as their relationship to one another. The terms
inside – interior” – and outside – exterior – refer to a duality that can be directly
experienced. The terms are two distinct entities that are mutually advantageous to one
other. Outside and inside could also be regarded as a question of perspective,
depending on the vantage point from which one observes and perceives. Moreover, an
architectural space cannot be classified just as an interior or an exterior space; instead,
there is a place that has the characteristics of both types of spaces. This situation is
referred the liminal zone between two points (Arnheim et al., 1966). This space is also
a line of a connection, transition, border, distinction, threshold, or tension and could
be referred as “in-between space”. According to Krstić, Trentin and Jovanović (2016,
p. 84), in-between space is the outcome of a unique design idea in which the
architectural composition is built up by gradually inserting volumes one inside another,
much like a box inside another box, which is inside another smaller box.

In his book Space, Time, and Architecture, Sigfried Gideon argues the three spatial
concepts that correspond to the evolution of architecture. The first concept, is created
by manipulating volumes, as can be seen in the Egyptian, Sumerian, and Greek
architecture. In this design idea, the interior space is largely overlooked. The second
idea, which dates from the Roman Pantheon until the end of the 18th century, is
characterized by hollowed inward space. The third concept is a mix of both ideas. Thus,
Giedion emphasized the unity of interior and exterior spaces (Giedion, 2012).

The concepts of interior and exterior spaces are opposite terms; one cannot have a
meaning without the other. When compared to the interior, which is defined by walls,

7
ceilings, and floors, the exterior is characterized by features such as the sky, trees,
structural elements, and flooring that serve as exterior walls. The idea of Beatriz
Colomnia (2001, p. 274) can support the unity of interior and exterior; “That the
‘outside’ is merely a mask covering a pre-existing interior is misleading because the
inside and the outside are constructed simultaneously”.

On the one hand, the boundaries between inside and outside are distinct and visible,
and the inside and outside fields are well defined in the traditional design approach.
On the other hand, one can be either inside or outside of a facility. According to Krstić,
Trentin, and Jovanović (2016, p.84) inside and outside are the only two opposites, like
black and white, in that they are the only two hues. These two hues are connected by
a wide range of grayscale. There can be a lot of different shades of gray in the link
between the outside world and the inside world. There are also a lot of other spaces
that are between the outside and the inside (Krstić, Trentin, Jovanović, 2016, p. 84)
(Figure 2.1.).

On the one hand, the boundaries between inside and outside are distinct and visible,
and the inside and outside fields are well defined in the traditional design approach.
On the other hand, one can be either inside or outside of a facility. According to Krstić,
Trentin, and Jovanović (2016, p.84) inside and outside are the only two opposites, like
black and white, in that they are the only two hues. These two hues are connected by
a wide range of grayscale. There can be a lot of different shades of gray in the link
between the outside world and the inside world. There are also a lot of other spaces
that are between the outside and the inside (Krstić, Trentin, Jovanović, 2016, p. 84)
(Figure 2.1.).

8
Figure 2.1. Inside and outside relationship Source: Krstić, Trentin, Jovanović, 2016,
p.85

These in-between spatial configurations cannot be described as either inside or outside

space and are hence referred “in-between” spaces. These spaces are concerned with
the architectural space, which may be regarded as both interior and exterior at the same
time.

Georges Teyssot states that, paradoxically, the collective's public areas resemble
interiors (2013, p.5). These are a specific form of interior: threshold spaces, where the
inside and outside collide, where the public and private practically find a common base.
Thresholds are characterized by their shape between the two, as the medium that
allows two objects to pass through one another in both time and space. Teyssot defines
the door, window, mirror, and screen as thresholds or interstitial spaces that separate
the environment into the outside world and the interior world, respectively. Thresholds,
he argues, serve as both indicators of boundaries and portals to the outside world.
Choosing between barrier and bridge forces us to consider a third option: the middle
ground, or the in-between, which allows for the potential of conversations and
meetings (Teyssot, 2013, p. 5).

According to Oswald Mathias Ungers (1982, p. 20), the space organization can be
further tied to a specific architectural design approach or concept, graphically
characterized here as the box inside a box concept (Figure 2.2.). The concept in which
space is seen as a mutual interplay of multiple spatial arrangements. It is a notion in
which the path from the interior to the exterior is more complex and depicted through

9
multiple spatial levels. That could be regarded figuratively as boxes put one within the
other (Krstić, Trentin, Jovanović, 2016, p. 85).

Figure 2.2. Box in the box schematics

Source: Krstić, Trentin, Jovanović, 2016, p.85

According to Krstić, Trentin, and Jovanović (2016, p. 85), layered spaces are
significant within the scope of their interaction between interior and exterior spaces.
The notion of spatial integration looks to be a useful tool for integrating exterior and
interior spaces (Figure 2.3.). It provides several interrelationships that work between
these two opposing sides. Their relationship is not as clear as it is in traditional
architectural design. The exterior space is seen as a continuation of the interior area.
There are no longer any clear borders (Krstić, Trentin, Jovanović, 2016, p. 85).

Figure 2.3. In between space as an intersection of the inside and outside Source:
Krstić, Trentin, Jovanović, 2016, p.89

Architecture as an interface was one of the early notions of the space syntax. In space
syntax research, 'interface' extends from particular interpretations such as interface
maps (Hillier&Hanson 1984, p.104-105) to a larger conceptual perception of space as

10
a collective group that interfaces between occupants and the public to contemporary
ideas of scope interface. On the one hand, this is seen as a singular shift from private
space to public space, on the other hand, as a more progressive movement from public
urban areas towards further private spaces (Koch, 2013, p.8). The duality of public-
private and collective-individual in a metropolis is challenged by dissolving borders.
“Outside interior” emerges from the communal culture that shapes many metropolitan
areas. The inclination towards space sharing is visible in communal culture. Certain
private places are shared with others in the community and changed into public spaces.
People, for instance, frequently meet within the private domain of someone’s home in
their leisure time. This gathering can lead to blurred lines between the public and
private spheres. In a modern metropolis, such blurred lines undermine the dualism of
public-private and collective-individual (Atmodiwirjo et al., Yatmo, & Ujung, 2015).
The inside and outside cross one other’s limits in the context of everyday life in an
urban area. In ordinary urban spatial contexts, varying degrees of inside-ness and
outside-ness exist, manifesting varying degrees of porosity or permeability of the
borders and various types of boundary traversal (Atmodiwirjo et al., 2015, p.9).
Atodiwirijo et al. states the inside and outside borders of the public space as understood
inside and outside by being complementary entities. Thus, the nature of the inside-
outside border becomes difficult in the urban environment setting, where the hierarchy
of the environment might range from the intimate urban section to the open public area
(Atmodiwirjo et al., 2015, p.9).

To summarize, interiors and exteriors are often considered spatial dichotomies.

However, an architectural space that can be regarded as both interior and exterior has
the primary objective of expanding the notion of comprehending in-between space.
There are no clear boundaries between interior and exterior spaces. It is essential to
stress the importance of layered space and its interaction and relationship with the
exteriors and interiors.

2.2. Concept of “Interiority”

Because this thesis focuses the connection between the notion of interiority and public
urban voids or spaces between buildings, interiority as a conceptual term needs to be
investigated in order to nourish the discussion. Therefore, this section will discuss
several theoretical differences relevant to the notion of “interiority”. Interiority will be

11
examined, especially through the urban public spaces. The public interiors of Basmane
region, which was selected as the research area owing to its multi-layered structure,
will be investigated within the scope of various user experiences and everyday
activities. Thus, it will be easier to comprehend how the public interiors are regarded.

Interiority is not a quantitative term attached to an architectural definition. It is a

theoretical and immaterial collection of coincidences and factors that enable the
concept of “interior” (McCarthy, 2005, p. 112-125). In other words, it is not an absolute
requirement dependent on a limited architectural description. Interiority is transient
and promiscuous. It has an intimate relationship with every inside and interior
(McCarthy, 2005, p.112-125). According to Simpson and Winer (1989, p.1107), the
term interiority first appeared in 1701 and was originally associated with a moral
understanding of truth; by 1803, it had come to be associated with a more spatial
conception of truth. Unlike a perceived interiority interpretation, which is based on
circumspection rather than relative position, interiority is “opposed in all sense and
uses to exterior” (Simpson & Weiner, 1989, p.1107).

Interiority refers to an individual’s inner existence, which is rich and set in contrast to
the stresses of the outside world. This sense of being inside has been linked to ideas
about the private space or refuge of the inside. As a domain of privacy and subjectivity,
projection, and reception, the interior has come to be regarded as a sphere that, even
though being deeply impacted by infiltrations from the outside world, is responsive to
the human at its center (Pimlott, 2018, p.5-20).

The term interior is frequently used to describe a scenario indoors. The definition in
connection to the external deteriorates at times and is described as a strict relationship
divided by walls. However, researching dates when the concepts of interior and
interiority began to be discussed, Rice (2006) mentions that the inclusion of the
concept of “inside” in the literature coincided with the end of the 15th century. It was
used to mean “separated from the outside” and “inner world of the soul/mind”. He
emphasizes that the concept of “interiority” began to be used at the beginning of the
18th century and corresponds to “personal and subjective meaning” (Rice, 2006, p.).
McCarthy (2005, p.112) states interiority is an abstract concept rather than a tangible
one with a similar approach. The inside and outside have a dynamic relationship rather
than a static-absolute one. A concept of interiority is essential to managing dynamic

12
relationships. According to McCarthy (2005, p.112-125), interiority is “an abstract
property that facilitates the perception and delineation of an interior.” It also serves as
a transition point between the inside and the outside. She indicates that interiority; is a
state of the interior, a closure that occurs in time or place. This closure explains the
freedom and desires created within. Therefore, it has content beyond an architectural
term (McCarthy, 2005, p.112-125).

Bachelard (1994) discusses the concept of interiority as a method for investigating the
soul in his book, The Poetics of Space. He argues that imagination is one of the most
fundamental aspects of human nature and claims that establishing a metaphysics of
imagination cannot be done through the use of causality alone; rather, it is only
possible with the assistance of phenomenology, which involves investigation where
the image first emerged within the mind of the individual. When it reaches climatic,
physical, psychological, and social aspects, interiority becomes related to the notions
of what constitutes an interior and becomes more open to interpretation (Bachelard,
1994, p.215). As Bachelard (1994, p.217-218) states, “Outside and inside are both
intimate—they are always ready to be reversed, to exchange their hostility”. These are
unstable situations on the verge of reversal and collision: “inside and outside, as
experienced by the imagination, can no longer be taken in their simple reciprocity [...]
the dialectics of inside and outside multiply with countless diversified nuances”
(Bachelard, 1994, p. 216).

According to Richard Sennett, as addressed in his lecture titled “Interiors and

Interiority”, before modernity, internal affairs were not regarded as mainly separate
from those of the outer world. A concept of interior seclusion was not entirely created
until the 18th century when separated rooms with unique natures emerged. As the
interior became increasingly specialized, it was a place to hide from the world and
where subjective experience could grow. In his lecture, Sennett (1987, p.132-134)
defines interiority by referencing Georg Simmel’s work, The Metropolis and Mental
Life, in which Simmel suggests that the street, rather than the house or the community,
develops subjectivity inside the person. According to Simmel, people who live in cities
are “agonists.” They appear in the street and behave like they are not paying attention,
but the city still affects them. As a result of the street and exposure to others, feelings
and concepts can be generated: subjectivity, individuality, and interiority. Simmel

13
defines the urban subject as capable of seeing complicated exterior situations while
concurrently harboring relatively different ideas, all without the intrusion of others or
the involvement required by the domestic interior and its familiars (Simmel, 1903,
p .47-60). One can be disconnected from people and cultivate a meditative posture on
the street. Observing external situations without engagement or direct involvement
might give a sense of freedom.

A space that evokes a feeling of an interior may be found inside or outside of a building.
According to Liz Teston (2020, p.63), several elements influence how individuals
perceive interiority. These include formal and psychological aspects of the
environment and programming and atmospheric circumstances. Within this framework,
the taxonomy of interior-feeling is virtually unlimited. People can create typologies
(Figure 2.4.), such as psychological interiority, landscape interiority, thermodynamic
interiority, luminous interiority, shady interiority, sartorial interiority, and form-based
interiority conditions (Teston, 2020, p.63).

Figure 2.4. Taxonomy of interiority Schematics

Source: Teston, Interiority, 2020, Vol. 3, No. 5, 61–82

Interiority is a feeling of being rather than physical space within a structure. According
to Teston (2020, p.63), the first category, psychological interiorities, creates interiority
by merging human perception, time, and senses into a single phenomenon. According
to phenomenology, psychological interiority can only occur whenever humans
perceive it to manifest public interiority. Public interiority is created by sympathetic
interactions between two persons or between a person and the structure (Teston, 2020,
p.65) (Figure 2.5.). These transient variables influence our experience of interior-
feeling. Kristin Ross (2000, p.42) outlines a multivalent interior situation: an

14
interiority that is dependent on time, the connection of bodies, and the blurring of the
boundaries between the interior and the exterior. She refers to this non-passive
interiority as a “specific form made up of operations and interactions” (Ross, 2000, p.
43).

Figure 2.5. Psychological public interiority, Knoxville, Tennessee Source: Teston,

Interiority, 2020, Vol. 3, No. 5, 61–82

The second sort of interiority Teston discusses is form-based interiority, which is the
most basic type. The inner volume is essentially objectless and is tracked by a
continuous surface condition extending throughout the space (Figure 2.6.). The void
and the surface are two interconnected components of form-based interiority brought
together by the void. A surface is required in order to comprehend the void. This void
surface does not need to be perfect, and this form-based interiority does not require a
building façade. Formal and psychological interiorities are defined by the interaction
of void surfaces and human perception. In other words, human consciousness
establishes sensory links between things, materials, and space to create spaces with an
interior feeling (Teston, 2020, p.65).

15
 Figure 2.6. Form-based public interiority, Knoxville, Tennessee Source: Teston,
Interiority, 2020, Vol. 3, No. 5, 61-82

The third form approaches the public interior through the indefinite, ephemeral
character of human interactions with their surrounding atmospheric interiority (Figure
2.7.). This architectural fiction liberates from the constraints imposed by the physical
exterior in defining interiority. This hypothetical temperate plane is a barrier between
interiority and exteriority that can only be seen through the haptic senses of touch and
feel (Teston, 2017, p.3-8). Sean Lally (2014) characterizes the material energies that
form our sense of architecture or interior as thermodynamics, acoustics, and digital
technologies in his book, The Air from Other Planets: A Brief History of Architecture
to Come. According to Lally (2014), Atmospheres and energies can be employed to
denote interior thresholds, such as the close and public interiority situations.

Figure 2.7. Atmospheric public interiority, Schermerhorn Symphony Center in USA

Source: Teston, Interiority, 2020, Vol. 3, No. 5, 61-82

Furthermore, examples of public interiority may be seen in how contemporary works

are programmed (Teston, 2020, p.65). In other instances, they are exposed in informal
settings when users re-appropriate space for new applications that are not expected

16
during the design process. Outside Offices, a project by Jonathan Olivares completed
in 2011, takes interior-related programming and places in the outdoor environment
(Figure 2. 8.). The use of veiled vistas, acoustic control, and shading mechanisms
emphasize the concept of interiority. The clearest manifestations of these
programmatically public interiorities may be seen in re-appropriated urban spaces.
When park benches are converted into workplaces or window ledges are transformed
into marketplaces, the public creates these unofficial interiors in the exteriors. These
user-constructed experiences of public interiority are also supported by the urban's
built environment and psychological and atmospheric circumstances.

Figure 2.8. Programmatic public interiority, Cișmigiu Park, Romania Source:

Teston, Interiority, 2020, Vol. 3, No. 5, 61-82

The concept of threshold is related with the discourse of interiority because it broadens
our knowledge of the dualities such as inside-outside and interior-exterior, which have
become a common subject in several studies on interiority. With the dissolving of
interior-exterior barriers, “interior space can no longer oppose exterior; it emerges onto
the threshold of becoming exterior” (Stoner, 2001, p.43). A threshold denotes the
transition from one condition to another and shifts from inside to outside and from one
spatial quality to another. The concept of threshold embodies spatial ambiguity
(Boettger, 2014), and it brings up the question about where the boundary between
interior and exterior should be drawn; “where does interior end and exterior begin?”
(Weinthal, p.576–576). This duality leads to a threshold that becomes a particularly
intriguing medium for experimenting with the interaction between inside and outside
and investigating the spatial sensation of in-between that this duality provides.

17
From a material standpoint, the threshold can be found in certain kinds of architectural
or interior features, such as gates, gateways, doors, bridges, porches, or other physical
forms. The sense of threshold must be understood in a way that transcends the physical
movement from one portion of space to another. To be on the threshold entails the
subjective aspect of the feeling of transitioning or moving between different spatial
characteristics (Atmodiwirjo et al., Yatmo, & Ujung, 2015, p.108).

The existence of human beings and their activities in spaces establishes the structure
of perceived space (Bollnow, 1963). The comprehension of the transitory experience,
in particular, cannot be separated from the motions of the body in any way.
Consequently, the threshold concept challenges our understanding of the inner-exterior
relationship from an experienced viewpoint; it asks for exploring the interior spaces
and internal processes as defined or dictated by the human body, its sensory
instruments, and its activity. The concept of interiority can help to explain what
happens at the threshold, the occupancy, and the sense of the threshold. Also, it can
help to understand the evolution of spatial conceptions that characterize the new
interaction between inside and outside, between interior and architecture (Atmodiwirjo
et al., Yatmo, & Ujung, 2015, p.109).

When the urban environment is considered in the context of interior space, the
threshold is an important concept. Threshold supports a break from conventional urban
thinking, which is frequently defined by a clear boundary between the inside and
outside (street, open spaces), with the existence of threshold components
dividing/connecting the inside and outside. A new meaning for threshold emerges as
boundaries between inside and outside blurs over time (Atmodiwirjo et al., Yatmo, &
Ujung, 2015, p.109). The experience of being at the threshold is enlarged to the in-
between, transitory, and fluid experiences someone has while moving through these
blurred boundaries. The users play a vital role in the development of these kinds of
interiors, since they shape the spatial occupancy, sensory encounters, and personal
experiences inside places.

The idea of interiority is an abstract quality that, as McCarthy (2005, p.112-125)

pointed out, can be interpreted in various ways and is not dependent on a narrow
architectural definition. The public interiors are the gray zones separate from the

18
architectural interiors. This idea has been investigated by examining cases illustrating
how it is related to Basmane area.

2.3. Urban Interiors as Public Spaces

Even though urban interiors can be discussed under the title of public interiors it is
significant to understand the concept and its distinctive characteristics since it is the
focus of this thesis. In a wider definition, urban interiors can be regarded as a subset
of the larger category of public interiors. It is critical to note that the idea of urban
interiors in this thesis emphasizes the urban environment and outdoor public spaces
which have a feeling of an interior.

According to Merwood-Salisbury, Coxhead (2018, p.139) the term “urban interior”

first emerged in late 19th century America when designers created elaborate lobbies
that imitated and competed with the outdoors. In the postwar era, the invention of
architectural technology enabled these public interiors to transcend the urban scale.
Air-conditioning systems, fluorescent lighting, the escalator, and long-span structural
systems enabled the ample interior spaces that characterize modern urban landscapes,
for example, shopping malls, office complexes, and airport terminals (Koolhaas, 2002).
The notion of building mega-scale interiors resulted in the introduction of the
conceptualization process for these spaces utilizing methods that are normally linked
with urban design (Stickells, 2006; Rice, 2016). Simultaneously, commercial interiors
started taking on the scale and shape of the public exteriors. In order to make city
streets comfortable and safe, establishments have emerged the use of urban furniture
and lighting. (Merwood-Salisbury, Coxhead, 2018, p.139).

As a result, conceptions of interior and exterior can have to the formal, spatial, and
social characteristics of the cities. Making a clear border between constructed form
and landscape and between the urban and nature is difficult as it is the case for creating
a sharp boundary between urban and interior design.

Urban areas gain meaning with user settlement and interaction. Lefebvre (1991)
explains the concept of public space as a product produced by society. In other words,
public space is the physical, social, and cultural space where different users come
together, and in this process, “space” evolves as “place”. Placemaking gives personal
meaning to the user’s spatial experience. Walter Benjamin (1999) defines urban

19
experiencers as “flâneur”. Benjamin’s flâneur carries the interior features to the public
space with his definition of “acting as if were in own living room in the urban space”
(Benjamin, 1999). In other words, the flâneur as defined by Benjamin expands the
inner boundaries outside and conceptualizes them by moving away from the physical
boundaries. Accordingly, different cultures, different urban formations and forms
increase the diversity of urban interior spaces.

Urban interiors contain temporary, instant, and everyday spaces rather than stable
spaces. Therefore, different definitions can be made for each society and knowledge
of the city. Elena Ernrica Giunta (2009, p.52-61) defines the concept of the urban
interior from the perspective of “temporary residence”. According to Guinta, the urban
interior is a system of relations between bodies (users, residents, citizens, travelers),
objects and spaces (both temporary and permanent), and others.

Suzie Attiwill, a designer, and lecturer, who identifies herself as an “urban interiorist,”
indicates that “the conjunction of ‘urban and interior’ in respect to the design of
interiors and what a practice of interior design has to give to the modern city” (Attiwill,
2011, p.13). According to Attiwill (2011, p.13), interior design is liberated from its
conventional, complementary relationship to architecture in this context. It encourages
the proficiency of interior design to be used in larger contexts. Public spaces are
necessary areas where users perform their daily routines, come together, and socialize.
In this respect, public spaces have the potential to be urban interior spaces (Cordan &
Çolak, 2015, p.14-15). In other words, the urban interior can be defined as the
everyday routines of the users and the redefinition of the interior and exterior.

Gennaro Postiglione (2013, p.62), argues that the interior space between buildings is
increasingly similar to the exterior. According to Postiglione, the definitions of the
urban and interior space go beyond interdisciplinary borders and transfer the
perspective and techniques of user-oriented interior practice to the urban region. Thus,
Postiglione states that interior spaces should not be limited as spaces inside buildings
in the traditional sense and talks about the importance of bringing them to urban life.

As a result of such developments and arguments, urban interior spaces have become
subjectivized to interior practice as the interior overflows the exterior. Definitions of
urban interior space have been examined through different cross-sections and have

20
disrupted the usual interior-exterior relationship. These multi-layered definitions go
beyond the physical environment and encompass atmospheric and experiential
qualities. Multi-layered definitions create a new zone by blurring the boundaries
between interior and exterior through the relationship between the user and the space.
In this sense, the exploration of urban interiors and the investigation of user activities
in urban public spaces are important in understanding the change in the city and
evaluating the renewal proposals.

In the following section, the concepts of public and urban interiors will be discussed
in the scope of the public space. The section will examine how concepts of interiority
have been shaping the architecture of urban space from the mid-1960s to the present
within the scope of the “urban interior” literature. It will provide a series of current
instances in which interiority continues to contribute to the creative and imaginative
urban space with an emphasis on two terms, interior urbanism and urban interiority.

2.3.1. Public Space

Before defining public and urban interiors, addressing the more general phrase of
public space is essential. Hannah Arendt (1958, p.50), a well-known figure in the
understanding of the public sphere, creates two different but related expansions of the
concept of public in her book, The Condition of Humanity written in 1958. Firstly,
anything publicly accessible may be seen and heard by anybody. The reality of
appearance can only be known through the public: “The presence of others who see
what we see and hear what we hear assures us of the reality of the world and ourselves”
(Arendt, 1958, p. 50). Secondly, Arendt (1958) refers to the ‘public’ as the shared world
of human works and the relations among the people living in this world.

In 1452, the architect-philosopher Leon Battista Alberti proposed public concept to the
realm of architectural and urban theory, based on a reinterpretation of classical
philosophy. He emphasized that all residents should be concerned with anything of a
public character that is part of a city, using the concept of ‘publice’ or ‘publick’ in
English (Harteveld, 2017, p. 398).

Public spaces are defined as “places or spaces open to the use and enjoyment of all
citizens” (Jackson, 1987). Lewis W. Dijkstra defines public space as the place where
one comes face to face with others (Dijkstra, 1999, p.1). The public space is the most

21
visible space to examine the relations between the individual and the community.
Public space is where socio-spatial transitions are visible, and the culture of a city is
produced (Harteveld, 2014). The public spaces that make up the urban open space
network also determine the texture typology of the city and thus, the urban morphology.
Urban open spaces are a network system established by linear areas such as streets,
avenues; spaces such as squares, parks, and junctions, all of which are outside the
urban texture’s occupancy (buildings) and where people can walk, stand and sit
(Kürkçüoğlu and Ocakçı, 2015, p.366).

Urban public spaces consist of more than only pedestrian circulation and recreational
and social activities. According to Gehl (1987, p.9), life between buildings
encompasses the complete range of activities that make shared spaces in cities and
residential communities relevant and attractive. The areas for the common use where
citizens meet their daily needs and carry out their ritual activities come together in the
flow of daily life and through entertainment, festivals, and meetings. The arrangement
of these areas with an approach that reflects the events and has an important place in
the city’s memory, identity, and local culture and their similar design elements makes
these areas more qualified and meaningful.

Alison Brown (2006, p.56) defines urban public space as “any physical area used
inside the city’s non-private domain”. According to this perspective, the broad
metropolitan area comprises not only formal squares, highways, and streets but also
unoccupied land, verges, and other edge spaces. In other words, any site with public
access and use is included, whether they are owned by the government, the private
sector, a community, or someone else. Nevertheless, their borders may change over
time.

The phrase “public space” focuses on the relationship between public and space
(Lofland, 1998). Public space is described in various ways in this respect, but the
common understanding is that it includes all parts of a community that is available and
transparent to everyone (Ujang & Zakariya, 2014, p.711). Commonly used public areas,
such as streets or squares, are available to the public for unlimited use within the scope
of their function and without the requirement for any specific authorization. Setha Low
and Neil Smith (2006) in addition to the norms of the use emphasized by Peter Marcuse,
bring knowledge of the rules of access:

22
 Public space is traditionally differentiated from private space in terms of rules of
access, the source and nature of control over entry to a space, individual and
collective behavior sanctioned in specific spaces, and rules of use. (Low & Smith,
2006, p. 3)

To summarize the arguments on the public space, concerning the key components of
ownership and accessibility, the following explanations can be made: All sections of
the built and natural environment that are not essentially but publicly accessible are
referred public spaces. The entire public and private, internal and exterior, urban and
rural environment can be considered without any types of restrictions. Public space
includes all streets and squares, whether primarily for residential, commercial, or
community/civic purposes; open spaces and parks; open countryside; and public and
private places, both interior and exterior, where public access is permitted. (Carmona,
Magalhes, & Hammond, 2008).

According to Gehl (1987, p.17), “The presence of other people, activities, events,
inspiration and stimulation represent one of the most significant features of public
places overall”. In that sense, the presence of people and a sense of community are
essential elements of public spaces. Public spaces, which are open to the use of
different social groups, are expected to have multiple functions and serve more than
one group of people. Public spaces reflect and support the social interaction, and they
generally provide a multi-purpose use within the scope of their users and time. Thus,
the concept of a sense of community comes to the forefront. Before connecting as a
community to others, people must have a “feeling of belongingness, fellowship, ‘we-
ness,’ identification, etc., experienced in the framework of, geographically based,
collective” (Bruckner, 1988, p.733).

Open public spaces, primarily pedestrian and natural areas, and other public meeting
places are necessary for the social interaction and the formation of a community
feeling. The notion that “physical features, particularly the public spaces of a
geographical region, may impact the attitudes and behaviors of its citizens” and
community interaction is tied to a better understanding of public space (Kingston,
Mitchell, Florin, and Stevenson, 1999, p.291).

Community resilience is strongly related to the position of the public space as a venue
that encourages a social engagement in a place-based strategy. Community resilience

23
has lately been linked to the social phenomena, including ‘place-making’, which
involves the temporary provision of public space to enable the informal use. Resilience
emphasizes responding capacities, and designated border regions play a crucial role
(Lara-Hernandez, Melis& Thompson, 1982).

The blurring line between inside and outside has resulted in the creation of new forms
of public spaces, such as interior public spaces. Consequently, factors such as
accessibility, ownership, boundary, sense of community, and inside-ness / outside-ness
are used to define public space. Many interior spaces in cities are considered public
because they belong to or pertain to people in everyday life. Thus, they belong to
people, with or without the authority, which influences rules and regulations. It is
important to understand what makes these spaces as public interiors.

2.3.2. Public Interior

The aim of this part is to define ‘public interior’ and to understand; if it is possible for
public space to become a component of interiority, what are some of the major
characteristics of interior public space?

The increasing connection between the terms ‘public’ and ‘interior’ emphasizes the
complicated link that exists between the urban and interior settings. The interior
phenomenon can be observed to have a direct influence on the urban environment. The
opposite is also true; the size of a metropolitan significantly influences interior design.
The notion of the public interior has evolved within the discipline of interior
architecture. What was previously almost entirely concerned with the design of private
rooms has become focused on the relational circumstances between the interior and
the exterior (Harteveld, 2007).

The minor but critical communal infrastructures, including the most populated,
publicly managed, and also interior public spaces, demonstrate “that the limit of public
space is not always firmly defined” (Harteveld, 2007, p.35). In the context of daily life
in an urban area, indoor and outdoor spaces can cross the boundaries of each other.
The growing convergence of the ideas of ‘public’ and ‘interior’ in the urban
environment raised the critical issue of the relationship and interaction of these urban
spaces with their users.

24
Beyond the oppositions of public and private entities, public spaces must be viewed as
both within and outside buildings, so interiors and exteriors, while playing roles in the
everyday lives of greater as well as smaller groups of people. The connection between
both exterior and interior categories of space is indicated by Rob Krier (1979, p.16)
through function and circulation patterns. The street and the square, as well as the
hallway and the internal chamber, are the essential aspects of the urban environment:

The geometric characteristics of both spatial forms are the same. They are
differentiated only by the dimensions of the walls which bound them and by the
patterns of function and circulation which characterize them (Krier, 1979, p.16).

The idea of a public interior is not a new phenomenon, and it has its origins in the
historical architectural debate concerning public space (Poot, T., Van Acker, M., & De
Vos, E., 2015, p.45). The attention is drawn to an inconsistency in the city layout while
seeing today’s ichnographic plan of Rome prepared by the Italian architect and
engineer Giambattista Nolli in 1784. Nolli employed different marks for his mapping:
public areas are dedicated as white while private areas are colored as black. Aside from
the customary squares and streets, the interior of significant public structures has also
been shown as white. This implies that publically available interiors have been
likewise regarded as part of the public sphere. As a result, Nolli’s depiction of public
life in 18th century Rome demonstrates an uncertain distinction between public and
private places (Poot, Van Acker & De Vos, 2015, p.48) (Figure 2.9.).

25
 Figure 2.9. Nolli Map
Source: Pianta Grande di Roma, ichnographic plan of Rome; 1736 -1748

During the 19th century, the growth of a capitalist, secular urban culture demonstrated
to become a defining moment in the understanding of public space. The notion has
been broadened, and the political realm became viewed as a ‘performance’;
metaphorical language and references to masks emphasized the theatre metaphors. The
glass-roofed commercial squares integrating external and internal aspects, the public
theatre realm, and the private sphere of capitalist household space, into a unified urban
pattern were defined by theorist Walter Benjamin and architect Johan Geist as the
tangible representation of 19th century aristocracy (Poot, Van Acker, & De Vos, 2015,
p.48).

The 20th century deterioration of this theatrical urban living has been presented as an
explanation for the storyline of deep loss which has occupied architectural discourse
for a long time. Architect Rem Koolhaas, architectural historian Michael Sorkin, and
cultural theorist Lieven De Cauter have all expressed dissatisfaction with the rising
privatization of the public sphere through terms like ‘Disneyfication,’ ‘Junkspace,’ and
‘capsulation.’ Among many other things, these current critiques criticize the
privatization and homogenization of public areas. Developer rules apply to privately
held public interior spaces, which are predominantly used as consuming locations.
(Poot, Van Acker, & De Vos, 2015, p.48)

According to the United Nations Human Settlement Programme (UN-Habitat, 2016,

p.7), the public area offers a ‘living room’ that enables social contact and motivates
identification and a sense of belonging as well as the linked economic advantages for
disadvantaged communities in a dense residential environment. In terms of resilience,

26
as we had recently experienced, quick responses generated by the COVID-19 disaster
impacted traveling, meeting, and the social life generally, and so public space nearby
has become significant. According to Harteveld (2020, p.53-66), “urban space
becomes an extension of the living room, even the urban living room itself,” as a result
of the crisis, ‘domestication’ becomes a public value. As locations for community
resilience, a diverse range of contemporary public spaces serves significant roles in
the everyday urban life.

Nonetheless, such contemporary public spaces serve as an essential part of daily urban
life as addressed by Spanish architect Manuel de Solà-Morales, who is one of the first
to recognize the social significance and importance of semi-public spaces, or
‘collective spaces’ (Poot et al., 2015). He refines the phenomena as follows:

The civic, architectural, urban, and morphological richness of a contemporary

city resides in the collective spaces that are not strictly public or private, but both
simultaneously. These are public spaces that are used for private activities, or
private spaces that allow for collective use, and they include the whole spectrum
in between (de Solà-Morales, 1992, p.3).

Martk Pimlott’s works address mega retail malls and other urban projects where there
is just within ‘interiorized territory’ as, “the antagonistic exterior disappears; one is in
a potentially endless environment that offers perpetual itinerancy and an illusion of
freedom from which there is no escape” (Pimlott, 2010, p.46). Pimlott investigates
several forms of interior spaces that are regarded as public, not in terms of ownership,
but in terms of their ability to be perceived as “public, even if they are privately owned
and operated,” via these issues to better understand (Pimlott, 2010, p.46). The term
‘accessibility’ defined as permeability, as being able to enter a location without doubt
or effort, could indicate a difference between public spaces and public interiors (Poot,
Van Acker, & De Vos, 2015, p.4).

The phrase ‘accessibility’ means that these areas are available to everybody. However,
due to practical considerations, access to a public interior could be temporarily limited.
To be more specific, accessibility should be interpreted as transparency, or the capacity
to enter a location without doubt or effort. The entry, as it is often a situation with
public interiors, is so vague that the nearby roads appear to flow into the inner space
and conversely. Additionally, public accessibility is also related to ‘ownership’.
Architect Marc Van Leent said that we must separate legal and mental ownership in

27
the public space design. The public interior could be owned by both private and public
entities; but, for it to be evaluated as a public space, mental ownership should be
considered by the users (Leent, 2012, p.10).

Architect Manuel de Solà-Morales is the first among the designers who emphasize the
importance of public interiors and categorizes them according to ownership (Poot, Van
Acker, & De Vos, 2015, p. 5). He investigates the spaces which are used as public
spaces despite the fact that they may belong to a private owner. Libraries, hospitals,
and retail malls can be given as examples of such spaces.

Furthermore, according to Kristiaan Borret public-owned spaces like arcades, passages,

and inner courtyards can be considered public interiors, as are communal outside
public places that provide shelter, such as bus stops (Figure 2.10.). Borret, Antwerp’s
former city architect, refers to these areas as “secondary public spaces.” They are
distinct from the so-called “main public spaces” which are the real streets, market
centers, and squares. They provide an alternative ‘notion of community’ in outlying
urban neighborhoods, many of which have historically possessed an actual public
centre (Borret, 2006, p.39).

Figure 2.10. Collective outdoor as public interior. Wow, Canal Swimmer’s Club
Source: Adapted from Arch Daily, 2015

“Public Interiors” is the term for either public areas utilized for private activities or
private locations that allow for group usage and anything in between. (Poot, Van Acker,
& De Vos, 2015, p.4). The IBM Plaza, a glass-covered pedestrian plaza that, despite
its impressive size, is recognized as a calm and serene sanctuary from its crowded
surroundings, is a well-known example in this scope (Poot, Van Acker, & De Vos, 2015,

28
p.6). Its glass-enclosed covered pedestrian area, a plant greenhouse, and public living
room wrapped into just one have gained near-universal acclaim as New York City’s
privately owned public place. The existence of these users has typified the notion of
an accessible, non-commercial, private-public space in the center of the city, together
with the countless others who have enjoyed dining, speaking, studying, and relaxing
here. According to Borret, related design difficulties come mostly with private
ownership in the form of developer requirements and a lack of spatial quality (Poot,
Van Acker, & De Vos, 2015, p.6).

To sum up, public interiors are essential to communities and their culture because they
play a key role in diverse social-spatial developments. These spaces are the
components of everyday urban life, and they serve as sites for socio-spatial changes.
Many remarkable interiors are currently becoming a part of urban life and structure by
considering their interaction with the users. Thus, interior public spaces are becoming
a part of daily life and gaining more importance within the scope of everyday activities.

2.3.3. Internalization of Urban Space and Urban Interiority

The term interiority means ‘inner character,’ and implies a state of inwardness and
solitary introspection (Sennett, 1987). The relationship between urban and interior
should be explained under the historical evolution of the interiority notion. Interior
concept have been rethinking the operational field because of the transformations
affecting core disciplinary interests for the last 50 years (Sparke, 2008, p.204-212).
The concept of interiority begins to expand the public space due to its urban flexibility,
communication, and utilization along with this rethinking process.

Interior architecture and design as a field have been enlarged and adapted to
contemporary urban environments (Peressut, 2010). In this respect, the spaces in the
city began to be defined without separation between interior and exterior. The nature
of domestic interiors began to be featured as urban spaces. Because of its complexity,
it is essential to trace the evolution of the concept of urban interiors. The idea of “urban
interior” refers to the different situations, from the definition of “open-air rooms” to
the effort of making a place for the community. Finally, the goals of urban planning
and design scales and tools have changed and merged over time. Open-air rooms
purpose is to position the concept of urban interiors within a broader narrative and to

29
create the groundwork for a coherent theoretical framework that may emphasize the
methodological contribution of interior disciplines to urban structure. (Peressut, 2010).

Edward T. White (1999) refers to urban space attributes as “urban rooms” multiple
times in his book Path, Portal, Place. According to White (1999, p.11) “Plazas and
gardens offer opportunities to sit, be and enjoy. They have a clear feeling of place, of
definition and character. They are urban rooms that embrace us with a grateful
generosity”. He refers to the “room” as a volume or a closed chamber in a building
both literally and symbolically. He defines urban texture as the “home” and states, “In
compact urban fabrics where contiguous facades shape coherent pathways and places,
we occasionally hear the metaphor ‘city as house’ used to describe the environment.
The streets are hallways, plazas are rooms and building facades are interior walls”
(White, 1999, p.24). He focuses on urban public spaces from the perspective of
pedestrians, defining them as paths, portals, and places based on their physical
characteristics and human activities. Also, he mentions “hybrid spaces”, which can
have several characteristics. White's sections and diagram sketches address how he
explained the urban environment from a pedestrian perspective (Figure 2.11.). These
illustrations serve as a guide for discovering interior urban places (White, 1999, p.41).

Figure 2.11. Urban section sketches. Source: Adapted from Path. Portal. Place
Appreciating Public Space in Urban Environment (White, 1999, p.41-70).

Urban spaces can be seen in White’s book (Figure 2.12.) as voids in the middle of
building masses. In this set of drawings, the urban area’s scale is enlarged to provide
the feeling of interior space in a section drawing of urban space. Similarly, other
urban planes define spaces that provide a sense of interiority.

30
 Figure 2.12. Urban section sketches. Source: Adapted from Path. Portal. Place
Appreciating Public Space in Urban Environment (White, 1999, p.41 - 70).

According to White (1999), the internal areas of an urban environment are

characterized as containers. A container is a spatial volume, which is a space
surrounded by boundary elements that determine the limits of a particular space (White,
1999, p.41). Container typologies are categorized into nine groups (Figure 2.13.):
single plane, L-shaped, U-shaped, corner, dead-end, C-shaped, enclosed, multiple
planes and tunnel. These container forms may be seen in urban environments with
examples (Başarır, 2015, p.34).

Figure 2.13. Urban interior containers. Adapted from Urban Interior: Taksim Square
and Cumhuriyet Street Underpass Source: Başarır, 2015, p.17 İstanbul: İstanbul
Technical University.

Rayner Banham’s The Architecture of the Well-tempered Environment (1969)

introduces a shifted concept of interiority from the idea of bourgeois domestic

31
seclusion to an artificial environment defined by its internal atmosphere in any case of
any scalar or typological differentiation (Piper & Khamsi, 2014, p.52). As a result of
this identification, most of the urban lives take place within this interior condition. The
new set of urban spaces challenges the classical typology at the base of urban
government and planning. Historical narrations characterize different critical
approaches. However, they begin from the definition of Walter Benjamin Parisian
arcades, which offered the first topography of public interiors, “the dream-houses of
the collective,” where the boundaries between public and private are blurred. It was an
overlap of commercial purpose and domestic values. Beyond a particular scale or
accessibility, some interior spaces have to be considered a part of public space (Piper
& Khamsi, 2014, p.52). The Parisians’ made the street an interior. Their method of
occupying their streets was as follows:

Returning by the Rue Saint-Honore, we met with an eloquent example of that

Parisian street industry which can make use of anything. Men were at work
repairing the pavement and laying pipeline, and, as a result, in the middle of the
street, there was an area which was blocked off but which was embanked and
covered with stones. On this spot street vendors had immediately installed
themselves, and five or six were selling writing implements and notebooks,
cutlery, lampshades, garters, embroidered collars and all sorts of trinkets. Even
a dealer in secondhand goods had opened a branch office here and was displaying
on the stones his bric-a-brac of old cups, plates, glasses, and so forth, so that
business was profiting, instead of suffering from the brief disturbance. They are
simply wizards at making a virtue of necessity. (Stahr, 1857, p.29)

The layout of premodern cities was described as “urban interiority” by Camillo Sitte.
Sitte (1889, p.129-332), represented the city in 1889 as an unbroken living
environment structured by a continuous succession of spatial enclosures rather than a
single aggregation of structures (Figure 2.14.). When Leon Battista Alberti presented
his architectural book to Pope Nicholas V, he defined the city as a “great home” with
its streets and squares and the house as a “small city” with its rooms and corridos
(Alberti, 1989, p.36). On the other hand, Sitte was the first to see that citizens’
behaviors, rituals, and habits can shape the acceptance of this type of “sculptured void.”
In this sense, the earliest notion of urban interiority evolved from the notion that urban
space was not only confined but also characterized “by difference” by its current usage.

32
 Figure 2.14. Camillo Sitte’s illustration, The Birth of Modern City Planning
Source: New York: Rizzoli, 1986

Hermann Sörgel indicates, 20 years later, a consequence of this interiority to all the
urban figures that “the street as a space is linked to the buildings that surround it, just
like one room links to another” (Sörgel, 1918, p.51). In other words, the notion was
that because of their enclosing, urban open spaces could also be regarded as interiors
from a design standpoint since they were “open-air rooms.” (Sörgel, 1918, p.51).

In 1971, Louis Kahn created a charcoal illustration of the motto “Architecture comes
from the Making of a Room.” There was a sketch of a typical Italian square, under
which Kahn wrote, “A community room the walls of which belong to the donors/ Its
ceiling is the sky.” (Khan, 1971, p.33). In other words, the room was designed to be a
spectacular description of how humans provided and lived in the constructed space
between two interiors, whether private or public, at home or in a square.

From this point of view, urban environments can be defined as having an interiority
based on their enclosure. In 1970, Rudolf Arnheim published The Dynamics of
Architectural Form, in which he resurrected Bachelard’s “nest” illusion to apply the
projectivity of interior design to urban open spaces (Arnheim, 1977, p.112-114). The
“hypothesis for an urbanistic sign” was then organized by Renato De Fusco, and the
proposal was eventually approved (De Fusco, 1978, p.77-84). Christian Norberg-
Schulz had the first conscious understanding that “the street may be an ‘urban interior’
where life takes place, in the full sense of the word” (Norberg-Schulz, 1980, p.142).
As if interiority were only a topological or positional requirement, these perspectives,
while deeply concerned with human acts, never transcend the necessity for a physical
circumscription to legitimate the formation of binomial (Leveratto, 2019, p.9). As a

33
result, the transformation of an abstract open space into an actual ‘urban interior’
remained still dependent on the architectural formalization of its boundary.

2.3.4. Urban Interiors through the Human Scale

The dimension of spaces associated with human scale could identify an interior space
with urban features. Consequently, human dimensions and their relationship with
spaces are contained, as they are critical for studying interior space in an urban setting.
M. Reza Shirazi (2014) describes the relationship between environmental perception
and the human scale as follows:

We can sense both our “physical body”, for example, in the action of gravity while
falling downstairs, and our animated “living body”, for example, when we move
ourselves towards the door. In other words, our body has a special kind of
corporeality, a lived-bodylines, which makes us an actor in the world, and thus
our perception is a lived, experienced perception (Shirazi, 2014, p.13).

The argument demonstrates that, while humans live in space, space is determined by
our perception of the surroundings and human bodies. On the one hand, while
the debates based on culture were concentrated on the human scale of urban
architecture, researchers, and historians such as Giulio Carlo Argan started to shift the
threshold of interiority from a primarily topological to an existential level by
identifying interior space as “dimensions of human existence” instead of “delimited
by walls in relation to the outside” (Leveratto, 2019, p.162). Interior disciplines began
to approach diverse sizes and dimensions, and architectural and urban studies
concentrated on the city’s “human character,” which the concept of interiority
indicated (Smithson & Smithson, 1957).

On the other hand, an increasing portion of the design and planning culture started to
examine the link between physical space and people’s sociopsychological demands to
represent modern social and cultural patterns more accurately (Leveratto, 2019, p.4).
The psychological and perceptual consequences of the physical structure of urban
environments were addressed by urban geography (Lynch, 1964). As a result of the
growing prominence of personal experience in building the feeling of urban liveability,
the idea of interiority received importance in urban studies.

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The clearest example is Aldo van Eyck’s work, which is focused on the interiorization
of his project on Amsterdam’s playgrounds (Harteveld, 2017, p.396). He suggests an
“interiorization” approach to urban planning to encourage modern architectural
humanism that can focus on everyday life. “The planner’s task is to give built
homecoming for everyone, to preserve a sense of belonging... has been provided
outdoors for man even within,” he wrote in Forum in 1960 (van Eyck, 1960, p.238).
According to van Eyck (1960, p.238), the purpose of architectural design is the
“creation of the interior both outside and inside. For the exterior is that which comes
before the man-made environment ... that which is convinced to become comparable
by being interiorized” (van Eyck, 1960, p.238). Consequently, the idea of the interior
is converted from a positional situation to a welcoming environment that individuals
can experience, utilize, and continuously modify.

Carlo De Carli works on widening the scope of interior disciplines’ competency by

focusing on human characterization simultaneously. He wrote in the Italian journal
Interni “the interior is not [...] the opposite of the ‘outside’ and does not have larger or
small dimension; it is a continuity that assumes different aspects and meanings; it is a
singular consistency of a moment; it is a human condition of life” (De Carli, 1967, p.3).
He believes interior space should not be regarded as “a logical inversion of the outside”
but as “the same genetic interiority of space” (De Carli, 1967, p. 3). De Carli attempts
to narrow the gap between urban, architectural, and interior design by examining the
methodological approaches that distinguished the multiple disciplines and advocating
a heightened understanding of the human implications that only a design “from the
interior” can consider inside and outside (De Carli, 1967, p. 5).

Finally, in the early 1980s, these varied contributions created the way to establish a
school in Milan dedicated to urban interior architecture and design. They claim that
urban open spaces should not be regarded as mere voids but as “architectural spaces
to develop and shape” using techniques and ideas from the interior design tradition
(Ottolini, 1987, p.39). Nevertheless, the emphasis is always on the “living” component
that projects are required to generate, allowing them to become an “urban interior” in
this sense (Di Prete, 2011, p.28).

Lois Weinthal illustrated a spherical graphic with the scope of “human body and
perception” being the core in the foreword of an interior design theories book called

35
Toward a New Interior (2011, p.10). Weinthal’s design (Figure 2.15.) shows various
evidence regarding changes in attitudes toward being in an internal space in eight
circular multilayered levels, depending on the proportions of the space: “1. Body and
Perception, 2. Clothing and Identity, 3. Furniture and Objects, 4. Color and Surfaces,
5. Mapping the Interior, 6. Private Chambers, 7. Public Performance, and 8. Bridging
the Interior and Exterior (Weinthal, 2011, p.10)”.

Figure 2.15. Weinthal’s Diagram

Source: Toward a New Interior, an Anthology of Interior Design Theory, p.10

As a result, interiors are no more investigated as a distinct typological topic but instead
as a design philosophy centered on the importance of human “gesture,” defined as the
process of constructing a space (Postiglione & Lupo, 2007). Urban interiors can be
understood as an uncoordinated and concurrent set of design studies that identify
innovative and successful techniques for “place-making” (Attiwill, 2013; Hinkel,
2011).

2.3.5. Practices of Interior-Making

This section evaluates the possibility of urban interior design as a discipline and
interior-making in the city. It will draw on examples where urban and interior design
have intersected and offer innovative thinking about ‘interior design’ as a process of
creating interiors, compared to the previous traditional paradigms.

36
The efforts of interior-making in urban circumstances during the last 20 years have
varied, fast increasing in quantity, and engaging a wide range of actors. Numerous
modern public space design initiatives incorporate the use of a formal and practical
repertory of various aspects of interiority, although haphazardly (Klanten, 2012). In
what follows the notion of urban interior making will be discussed in two major
categories/ways/titles: formal and functional, and spontaneous spatial appropriation.

Formal and Functional: Interior references, for example, have taken a detailed look
at large-scale urban renewal interventions such as; Carlos Martinez and Pipilotti Rist’s
Stadtlounge (2005), Raumlabor’s Open House (2011), and the concept of smaller
“urban activators” such as Atelier Oslo’s Lanternen House (2008), Atelier Bow-BMW
Wow’s Guggenheim Lab (2011), and Heri and Salli’s Flederhaus (2011). Over the
years, they have come to symbolize a wide range of place-making activities, including
paving, and sheltering, street furnishing, and wayfinding. Also, including several
individuals and disorganized “guerrilla urban decor” micro-interventions are intended
to reimagine the city in a much more casual and domestic manner (Klanten & Huber,
2010). In this respect, the techniques, procedures, and terminologies adopted, as also
the degree of devotion to site-specific characteristics and the requirement for space
enclosures or other physical means of boundary, are notably diverse.

“REAL Estate,” created by Al/Arch, is a temporary area in Bat-Yam, Israel, situated

next to the highway. The project was designed with a massive concrete wall on the
roadway functioning as an acoustic barrier in mind. The area intends to offer such
irrelevant roadside sites to inhabitants and comprises portions that will carry out daily
activities based on experience (Figure 2.16.). The proposal examines the region’s
potential with a new permeable wall that opens an energizing experience to achieve
functions such as eating and drinking, relaxing, and short-term shelter. With the
reopening of this abandoned section of the city, it has become a gathering spot for the
city’s citizens to assemble, spend time, and interact.

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 Figure 2.16. The REAL estate, AL/Arch, Bat Yam, Israel, 2012.
Source: www.al-arch.com

The “Piano City Cultural Event” was organized in Milan in May 2016, and several
temporary venues were created for the performances to be presented in semi-public
places (Rebaglio, Di Prete, & Lonardo, 2019). Temporary stages were set up for
performances in sites with historical buildings or monuments across the city. Wire and
textiles were used to create scenes in the building courtyards. With the additions that
divide, join, define, and restrict the space, versatile areas have been created for the
musical experience (Figure 2. 17.). In this approach, old building courtyards, which
are light and recyclable, have regained dynamism with the new temporary additional
space and function (Rebaglio, Di Prete, & Lonardo, 2019).

Figure 2.17. Urban Interior, Piano City, MUID-II, Milano Source: Rebaglio, A., Di
Prete, B. & Lonardo, E., ‘‘Specializing Master in Design for Public Space-Urban
Interior design in contemporary cities’’ Polidesign, 2019

The project “please be seated” was built in collaboration with interior architectural
firm White&White for the 2019 London Design Festival and was available to the

38
public. The product locates on London’s central pedestrian axis. The temporary area,
which was created by the society’s dynamic rhythm, was meant to allow for actions
such as sitting, gathering, and resting without impeding circulation. By encouraging
exploration of the region where it is placed, the project delivers a practical and
enjoyable experience. Wooden curves are constructed as high and low as possible;
sitting, reclining, stepping on, strolling under, or relaxing in the shade. After the
architectural product was placed in its designated place, it became a usable space for
people at all hours of the day. The area turns into an urban inner place where people
desire to spend time and is utilized temporarily, increasing the circulation of the street
where the project is located (Özkul, 2020, p.25) (Figure 2.18.).

Figure 2.18. ‘‘Please be seated’’, London Design Festival, 2019

Source: www.paulcocksedgestudio.com

In contrast, all examples to find a common strategy centered on making the city
liveable, regardless of methodological differences (Leveratto, 2019). These examples
aim to give individuals the ability to appropriate, utilize, and modify the environment
in which they live, both practically and metaphorically, to accommodate it to their
everyday routines. Thus, their evolution depends on specific design criteria that are
established by the spatial results of the center of this principle (Leveratto, 2019).

Spontaneous Spatial Appropriation: A distinct type of space that evolves from its core
qualities is defined by a specific emphasis on the activity of the subject involvement.
It revolves around the body’s dimensions, motions, and acts to establish the actual and
physical potential of inhabiting a place. According to Leveratto (2019, p.7), the

39
human body is supposed to be the actual focus of the process of placemaking rather
than an object of spatial design. In this sense, the experiences of the human body
establish a physical type of geometry that avoids traditional architectural layouts. It
favors a logical system of spatial arrangement based on human mobility, perception,
and cognition. This type of “interiorized geometry” defines a significant leap in the
practice of spatial formation from this perspective, not just characterized by a sequence
of consecutive enclosures but by a spatial attitude that shifts the internal space of
application from the optical to the haptic level (Leveratto, 2019, p.7).

Additionally, contemporary attempts at interior-making in urban settings tend to be

based on a complete understanding that any design behavior is just one part of a
continuous process of transformation. Interior-making is shaped not just by making
plans, design, and management approaches but also by numerous and spontaneous
spatial appropriation tactics. The process of interior-making is one of individuation in
the context of convergence of elements, change, and motion. This technique enhances
both temporal and spatial factors in the synthesis of interior conditions, a modification
process instead of a mold (Leveratto, 2019, p.8). For example, on Rue de Rivoli, one
of the busiest streets in Paris, various temporary experiential spaces are established
depending on the climate. The roadway is widely visible and is within walking distance
of several public areas and structures. Consequently, temporary, immersive areas
designed according to seasonal changes were created to draw attention to the value of
the street. The location, where users are greeted with a new surprise each time they
arrive, is in an area where families, children, and domestic and international visitors
are all welcome. The arrangements are an example of urban interior space that brings
citizens together in forgotten places by providing temporary, dynamic, and valuable
spaces based on experience (Özkul, 2020, p.20).

Elena Giunta, an Italian designer, who focuses on the notion of urban interiors, interior
practice, and urban transformation methods states that “Every urban area is primarily
considered a potential action location” (Giunta, 2009, p.52-61). Within the Berlin
Architectural Design Innovation Program framework, possible urban interior spaces
have been attempted to be identified by researching and experiencing the spaces in the
current location of the city. According to Rochus Hinkel (2010, p.88-95) the study as
a possible topic since it attempted to bring the urban space to residents through minor

40
interventions rather than large-scale undertakings. It was decided that the spaces
formed by niches, protrusions, corners, and edges at the intersection of the buildings
with the street will be used for everyday operations. These places are potential urban
interior spaces (Figure 2.19.) (Hinkel, 2011, p.88-95).

Figure 2.19. Potential Urban Interior Spaces, Berlin, Germany

Source: Urban Interior Informal Explorations, Interventions and Occupations,
Germany: Spurbuchverlag, 2011, 79-98.

The project “Urban Room” was created to think about the possibilities of the urban
interior in terms of practices and approaches for an interior design undergraduate
course at Portsmouth University. Urban Room provides a design process that is
influenced by the urban environment’s spatial and temporal circumstances and interior
design methods (Attiwill, 2011, p.18). The current situation of that time was examined
in the first half of the course by focusing on how interior spaces could be discovered
in the city. Various maps were created by evaluating scenarios such as lighting and
light conditions, materials, motions and flows, circulation, behavior, sound, and urban
character in both public and private locations (Attiwill, 2011, p.219). The existing
texture of the city was seen as a pattern, and the variables have influenced the future
spaces that will be formed around this pattern. Urban rooms, which will be positioned
in Melbourne’s civic backbone, were arranged in the studio’s second section under the

41
effect of these considerations. For instance, one of the studio students, Alice Kohler,
defined the interior condition as interior/exterior boundaries with an interior plan. She
mapped forces and motion where pressure confluences formed density and
condensation as interiorizations (Figure 2.20.). A street seller selling pictures and the
use of chalked outlined to create an interior through motion are among her
observations (Attiwil, 2011, p.219).

Figure 2.20. Left: Alice Kohler’s Interior Plan. Right: Alice Kohler Photograph of
street vendor Source: Attiwill, S. (2011). Urban Interior: interior-making in the
urban environment.

Sharn Lim’s Master thesis, Engaging Space, examines the subject of interior-making
by observing and analyzing street sellers in Singapore and Taipei in relationship to
interior design practices (Figure 2.21.). Sharn outlines the aim of the research
and gives the basis for intimate and temporal spatial arrangements in Tactics of The
Peripatetic: On Vendors Making an Interior of The Street, a conference paper based
on her research. Interior design is presented as a practice that is responsive to the
conditions of its environment. She observed distinctive elements of how sellers
interacted with spatial and temporal contexts through “adaptive arrangements and
spatial negotiations” using everyday practices and movements to “make temporary
interiors, practically immediately, of any place” (Lim, 2007, p.7).

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 Figure 2.21. Left: Sharn Lim Street vendor, Taipei. Right: A Beverage Vendor,
Taipei. Source: Sharn Lim, A practice of arranging Master by Research (project),
2007.

Vendors’ practices rely on making rapid use of space as part of a process of

constructing temporary interiors; space cannot be planned for but must be discovered
and interacted with.

According to Interior Architect Tine Poot, “City volumes such as streets, squares,
streets and park areas are traditional public spaces” (Poot, Van Acker, & De Vos, 2015,
p.44-56). Traditional public spaces are urban volumes accessible to people’s
experiences, diverse, and with uncertain boundaries. As a result, urban interiors
structured in conventional public areas are portrayed as an annex to the existing space
and pre-existing in the region where it is located (Çolak, 2012, p.73). In countries
where courtyard typologies are the most common ones, such as Turkey, courtyards and
terraces’ traditional urban interior notion can be understood as a spatial and socio-
cultural component. Urban interior spaces are courtyard and terrace spaces where
private and public spaces interact with one another (Figure 2.22.) (Cordan & Olak,
2015, p.72).

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 Figure 2.22. Courtyard and terraces as urban interiors, Mardin Turkey. Source:
Ozaslan & Akalın, 2011. Accessed in https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Mardin-
terraced-houses-from-the-early-1900s-Architecture-and-Image-The-Example-
of_fig2_233030966

Street marriages are another typical Turkish ritual. Street weddings are temporary
settings where all the people in the neighborhood are invited to attend, and
entertainment is provided (Figure 2.23.). Instead of establishing a location, weddings,
where everyone from the neighborhood gathers and socializes, are examples of an
urban interior where social values are expressed (Özkul, 2020, p.27).

44
 Figure 2.23. Street Wedding, İzmir
Source: https://www.cumhuriyet.com.tr/haber/izmirde-de-sokak-dugunleri

Streets, which are one of the essential parts of urban public spaces, are also crucial in
how people live in cities. In Turkey, interactional relationship situations are often
observed in the streets where the interior-exterior separation exceeds the physical
boundaries; sitting, working, having fun, hanging laundry, and playing games. In
common public spaces, many activities occur in front of the house. Thus, the streets
become the critical urban space where the house's interior overflows into the urban
area. In other words, urban interior spaces are defined by the gap between private and
public places (Cordan & Çolak, 2015, s.72).

Another example, the public art project Light in the Back Streets, created with the help
of the Spanish art collective Boa Mistura and the public demonstrates their potential
in this respect. Participants painted over parts of the streets that were unused to make
them more attractive. They also experimented with showing how people could use the
urban interior by making the borders clear with paint (Figure 2.24.).

45
 Figure 2.24. Light in the Back Streets, San Paulo, Brezilya, 2012. Source:
www.plataformaarquitectura.cl/2012/06/10/luz-nas-vielas-de-boa-mistura/

Urban interiors are transitory spatial additions to the urban public realm that frequently
exist for a limited period of time. In this sense, marketplaces with open or semi-open
spatial attributes that temporarily occupy a section of the city are also examples of
“temporary residence” (Cordan & Çolak, 2015, s.72). Street markets are one example
of urban interiors that are functionalized according to users’ needs. The streets, which
are public spaces, are pedestrianized for a certain period. Limiting the street is a way
to create an urban interior space. Temporarily existing street markets in the area serve
many activities (Figure 2.25.) (Özkul, 2020, p.25).

46
 Figure 2.25. Eşrefpaşa Street Market, İzmir Source:
https://www.gazetemizmir.com/esrefpasa-pazari

The term urban interior can refer to more than only areas constructed for temporary,
flexible, experimental, experience activities and behaviors in some circumstances. A
space created underneath a tree can be sometimes transformed into a physical and
social space which serves as an urban interior (Figure 2.26.). The term “inner city,” as
defined by Jonas is particularly noticeable in small towns in streets where private and
public spaces are combined, where the outside becomes the inside, and in the spaces
created by flowerpots that decorate balconies or are placed directly in front of the street
(Özkul, 2020, p.25).

Figure 2.26. Urban Interior, Historical Çınaraltı, Çengelköy, İstanbul, 2011. Source:
Cordan, Ö. & Çolak, 2015, p.68.

In summary, contemporary interior-making processes, whether linked or not with

architectural projects, constitute a form of mediation between two quite different
dimensions. The first is that, despite their definitions, interior disciplines cannot be

47
characterized just by a single spatial area, but rather by a particular disciplinary
approach intended to make architecture livable (Leveratto, 2018). The second is based
on an attempt to create a physical and permeable connection between urban
architecture’s simply spatial datum and the actual possibility of living it. Indeed, urban
settings can evolve around “gesture” of life in a dimension that people can experience,
use, and modify. Urban interiors are no longer defined by physical meanings but by
the users and their connections.

2.3.6. The Uses of Space

Public spaces are essential for people’s relationships with places and place attachment.
The human geographer Ted Relph, who presents a phenomenological account of place
in analyzing cities, argues that the relationship between community and place makes
emotional bonds stronger. In this way, people reinforce their identity by sharing the
common humanity and value of interpersonal engagements (Relph, 1976, p.33-34).
According to this type of place-based approach, community resilience is primarily
associated with public space and its state as a site that promotes social engagement.
Thus, increasing the resilience of society by improving people-ground connections
involves interventions that allow spontaneous and random events, even for a limited
time. In this context, informal use refers to the realization of unplanned activities in
public spaces as urban practices. According to social scientist Jessica Montserrat
Fonseca Rodriguez (2015), communities’ regular engagement in such activities results
in appropriation. The common use of public space for individual or collective activities
other than the main purpose of the space is important for people-place interactions.
Thus, people may reorganize and define urban places in accordance with their
preferences and needs (Rodriguez, 2015). Temporal appropriation, according to Jose
Antonio Lara-Hernandez, Alessandro Melis, and Silvio Caputo (2017, p.65), could
also be described as “the interaction between citizens and their city expressed through
certain kinds of activities occurring in public spaces”. It is in close agreement with the
observations of urban sociologist Ray Oldenburg, who deals with coffee shops and
other community centers. These spontaneous, informal and haphazard meeting places
host the bonding associations that are the cornerstone of social life (Oldenburg, 1989,
p.284). According to Dolores Hayden’s point of view, who works on architecture and
urban design; spaces in the city must comply with local standards of comfort and safety

48
to create places for everyone. The “collective home” approach may be appropriate for
such urban spaces. “Small, common-sense improvements in urban design can be
linked to larger ideas about nurturing to help end the split between private life and
public life” (Hayden, 1997, p.209-214). Examples include community gardens that
have been set up for years, as well as “no-land” man’s that people have taken and
turned into living rooms (Armstrong, 2000; Groth and Corijn, 2005; Amin, 2009).

The United Nations Human Settlement Programme particularly declares that “public
space provides a ‘living room’ that allows for social interaction and encourages
identification and feelings of belonging, along with the associated social and economic
benefits for vulnerable communities in dense living environments” (UN-Habitat, 2016,
p.7). Piazza del Campo in Siena is a suitable example for ‘living room’. The enclosed
spatial design, carefully placed fountain, and bollards are arranged to function as a
meeting place and shared living room for citizens (Figure 2.27.).

Figure 2.27. Piazza del Campo, Siena as urban living room.

Source: https://www.pps.org/places/piazza-del-campo

Jan Gehl (1987) mentions in his book Life Between Buildings that architecture always
starts with studying the spaces between buildings and living between buildings is an
architectural feature that demands more attention. Gehl examines several aspects of
urban quality from a human perspective. The aim is to enhance the relationship
between urban life and planned or existing buildings. Intermediate spaces between
buildings are critical locations, and the planning process should begin with the design
of these spaces. These are the places where social contact, social life, perception, and
urban life interact. It is important for people to come up with new ways to make these

49
areas more sustainable, adjust their lives, and use urban spaces in a more sustainable
way (Gehl, 1987).

Jan Gehl states that public space activities are especially significant in shaping people’s
conceptions of public space. Additionally, they are acutely aware of the physical
quality of their surroundings. Three types of outdoor activities are categorized by Gehl
(1987, p.11).

Necessary activities that connect with; walking to work or school, waiting for a bus,
shopping for food. Walking, observing, sunning, going to the shops, and relaxing at a
sidewalk café are optional activities that individuals may choose to engage in if time
and location permit. Resultant (social) activities dependent on the presence of people
in the public sphere, such as children playing, informal greetings, talks, and other
activities. Social activities emerge spontaneously as a direct outcome of the occurrence
of the other two types of activity (Gehl, 1987, p.11).

Gehl indicates that necessary activities are only marginally impacted by the physical
condition of the environment since they are required for the continuation of human life.
In contrast, optional activities are a direct indicator of the quality of public space since
they only occur when conditions are ideal. Furthermore, users have an impact on how
the place is perceived. If the residents prefer to stay in the areas rather than run away,
the place itself appears to be more ‘livable’ as a result. The last one, resultant (social)
activities take place regardless of the physical context. Their quality and density is
influenced by both the number of people in a space and how much the quality of the
space makes people want to spend time there (Gehl, 1987, p.11) (Figure 2.28.).

50
Figure 2.28. Relationship between the quality of outdoor spaces and the rate of event
of outdoor activities. Source: Gehl, 1987, p.11

In conclusion, studies and observations have demonstrated that users and user
activities are the most prominent focus of attention and concern for quality of outdoor
spaces. In any scenario, life between buildings appears to be critical and as significant
than spaces and buildings. Informal meetings and gatherings with other individuals in
towns and communities, in public places, and between buildings are essential for a
good and fulfilling existence. These are simple requests to provide a better and more
usable framework for everyday operations. It is a fundamental principle that daily life,
regular events, and the settings in which daily life occurs must focus on attention and
effort. A strong physical foundation for living and collaborative activities between
buildings, on the other hand, is a practical, independent characteristic and an
appropriate starting point in every situation.

51
 CHAPTER 3
SITE OF STUDY: BASMANE

The site of the study is Izmir’s Basmane district, which is a distinct area with a variety
of people from different cultural backgrounds sharing similar disadvantaged economic
conditions. It is characterized by the prominent existence of domestic and international
migrant populations. This composition is considered advantages within the scope of
the study since the area has caused different discussions in terms of architectural and
urban characteristics as well as socio-spatial practices.

Basmane is one of the city’s historical hubs, containing remains from the Hellenistic,
Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman eras that have persisted since 4 BC, and it is also the
place with the most densely inhabited foreign community today. The focus is the
Anafartalar Street, the main axis of the Basmane district, and its immediate
surrounding. For centuries, İzmir welcomed a diverse range of travelers because of its
harbor and later railway network. Regions in İzmir have had diverse cultures over time,
and they have evolved according to the ethnic community that resides there. The
presence of these ethnic groups has influenced the city’s culture. The traces of these
cultures are embodied in the built form dating to the present. Basmane and Anafartalar
neighborhoods located in the center of the city have endured to the current day as both
a “beginning point” or the first step into the city and a halt where the “roads converge”
(Perşembe & Gönç, 2018, p.19). Basmane and Anafartalar Streets have welcomed
people worldwide for centuries, accumulating historical and emotional memories. The
name Basmane derives from the location of textile and printed cotton manufacturers
and workshops. “Basma” denotes printed cotton, and “Basmahane” refers to the
location where the cotton was printed (Gökalp Aras, 2013, p.390) (Figure 3.1.). During
the Ottoman time and the early years of the Turkish Republic, Basmane area served as
the primary entryway to the city from Anatolia. Affluent families of the period resided
in palaces, villas, and residences with gardens in Basmane. It has been near the
commercial district, the harbor, and the train station. The presence of a significant

53
seaport and train station at the city’s core had both disadvantageous and beneficial
consequences (Kayın, 2010). Throughout history, Basmane’s structural and social
position has shifted. The Turkish War of Independence (1919-1923) and the
subsequent influx of Greeks to Greece, the city experienced a shift in socioeconomic
patterns. The migrants replaced Greeks who left İzmir (Aydoğan, 2001).

Figure 3.1. Konak City Border (By the author)

Following the War of Independence in 1922, the great fire destroyed Greek and a few
other neighborhoods in the center of the city. The fire ground became subject to the
city’s urban planning and the resulting changes in the urban form. Urban planning was
given a high priority in forming the new nation-state. After the fire, the new İzmir was
founded in the Fasula, Agios, Nikolas, and Demetrius, Mortakya, Armenian’s Haynots
(Basmane) district. In 1924, the Municipality of İzmir commissioned René and
Raymond Danger brothers, with the collaboration of Henri Prost to produce an urban
plan for Izmir. A model of extensive urban planning that reshapes the entire city, the
Danger-Prost plan proposed radial boulevards and triangular squares in the northern
portion of the center city (Figure 3.2.). At the same time, the southern half reflected
the characteristics of the traditional urban fabric made up of randomly shaped narrow
side streets (Birsel, 2009, p.13).

54
 Figure 3.2. Danger-Prost Plan, Radial boulevards and triangular squares. Source:
1925, APİKAM Archive

Starting from its construction, Basmane Station has been a significant factor in the
city's development because it had a major role as a point of interaction with the outside
world. Basmane district was the first place for many arriving the city, and it has housed
migrants over the years. Basmane’s train station was formerly quite busy with trains
arriving from Anatolia. For the railway personnel it was a favorable location to
purchase property and some chose to reside there after retirement. Basmane have
deteriorated as a result of the region’s changing socio-demographic structure (Kalaycı,
Birişçi, Demirkol, 2020, p.406). Furthermore, an influx of migration from the
country’s eastern to western regions took place as a result of politics of modernization
starting in the 1950s. Although this migration altered the city’s social structure, it also
played a role in the city’s restructuring (Aydoğan, 2001).

Economic and social developments in the organization of society had an impact on the
physical areas and regions of the city and the people who lived there. Immigrants from
various cultural backgrounds have sprung up in new locations, which shows that
towns' natural and historical structures have been worn down or destroyed. Historically,
the north of Kadifekale is described as the region where Muslims resided (Basmane
district, Arap Fırın, Dönertaş, Tilkilik, and Namazgah regions) (Beşikçi, 2011, p.13).
The region has lost its sociocultural values due to the settlement of families coming

55
from eastern regions to the neighborhood and the subsequent movement of people to
alternative locations (Aydoğan, 2001). Basmane region has become the new home for
many migrants who are seeking to find work in the area.

Basmane's north side borders are surrounded by Kadifekale mountain, and its major
streets have sense of enclosed, as does its topography. Anafartalar Street is a 1800 m-
long primarily pedestrian street, extending from Basmane Train Station to Konak
Square (Figure 3. 3.). The route connects the area to the Historic Bazaar of Kemeraltı,
the coastline, and Konak Square, creating a vital link between the railway station and
the city’s commercial and tourism districts. Basmane Square is connected to Montrö
Square by Dr. Refik Saydam Boulevard and to the coastline by Gazi Boulevard. Konak
Square is especially notable because many Syrians can be seen lounging there or
selling goods on the surrounding streets (Oner, Durmaz-Drinkwater, Grant, 2021,
p.82). In addition, Hatuniye Square and the Anafartalar Street Mosque serve as social
hubs for Syrians. Basmane’s built environment provides refugees with many short and
long-term opportunities to adapt and make a living. It is situated between the two major
transportation hubs of Konak Square and Basmane Train Station and is surrounded by
areas offering employment options, affordable housing, and public space. Moreover,
Izmir’s central park, Kültürpark, is only a 5-minute walk from Basmane, which
welcomed many refugees during the 2016 migrant influx. During this time, numerous
Syrians sleept on the benches in the park and temporarily camped there.

56
 Figure 3.3. Basmane and its immediate surroundings. (By the author)

Orhan Beşikçi, a city observer, defines the limits of Basmane district as follows:

Stand in front of the 9 Eylül Gate of Kültürpark while facing Kadifekale and
extend your left arm towards the historical Kervan Bridge and your right arm
towards the Çankaya district. The area that you embraced with your arms is
Basmane district. (Beşikçi, 2011)

Wissink, Düvell, and van Eerdewijk (2013, p.1087-1105) identify Basmane as a transit
migration-center in the city center, surrounded by public space, archaeological sites,
affordable housing, and employment in various textile industries, ceremony and
clothing industries, leather, and electronics, which are all grouped in and around the
site. Basmane in general and Anafartalar Street in specific are one of the important
commercial areas in İzmir. During the Ottoman Empire, two caravan routes passed
through İzmir (Figure 3.4.). The first one originated from the northern links between
Balıkesir, Akhisar, and Manisa. As s second route, Anafartalar Street, which connects
Izmir to Iran through Aydın, Selçuk, is one of the city's most important commercial
thoroughfares. Anfartalar Street and its surroundings are the most active trading area

57
among the Muslim, Jewish, and Armenian populations. (Perşembe & Gönç, 2018,
p.26).

Figure 3.4. Camel caravans on Anafartalar Street (Keçeciler), Basmane, 1900

Source: https://www.izmirdergisi.com/

People who live in Basmane and work as craftsmen come from various geographical
and cultural backgrounds, resulting in the development of places that reflect their
lifestyles and identity. Craftmans could not interact with other sections of İzmir in this
configuration, leading to its isolation from the city instead of integration. The
tradespeople whose economic condition declined began to leave Anafartalar, which
had lost its liveliness over time, and migrant traders resettled in the empty stores.
Small-scale ground-floor stores in the region enhance service and product accessibility
from the road, connection, and a sense of community (Perşembe & Gönç, 2018, p.26).
In what follows, the demographic structure of the area, its physical qualities, building
stock, and ownership will be investigated in order to gain a better understanding of the
region's shifting and multi-layered structure, which will be explored in more detail.

3.1. Demographic Structure of Basmane

İzmir is a port city that stands out for its rich historical past, including its commercial
character that spans several centuries. Thus, the city has been a cosmopolitan center
housing a variety of coexisting cultures, religions, and ethnicities, including Muslims,
Greek, Armenian, and Jewish. As the Aegean Region's metropolis, İzmir has
experienced several mass migrations over its long history. Apart from the migration it

58
received as a result of the population exchange, İzmir is a city where human mobility
occurred mainly in the form of internal and international migration from the rural to
the city between 1950 and 1980 (Kaya, Sarıkaya, 2020, p.1243). So, İzmir provide
sanctuary to people who had previously intended to cross the border primarily into the
European Union via nearby Greek islands. These seaside locations were precious as
temporary destinations (Hubbard, 2015).

In the 1950s, employment opportunities were provided at Basmane Station and

Basmane Bus Station. As a result of these opportunities, low-cost hotels, restaurants,
coffee shops, and workshops sprung up in the area. While most Basmane residents
began to relocate to various districts, new coming migrants filled their vacancies
during the 1960s Perşembe and Gönç (2018, p. 19). As a result of this transformation,
the city's central business district's urban texture and demographic structure have been
altered. Basmane has been a location for internal migrants since the 1980s, and it has
also become a transit point for international migrants from Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq,
Asia, and Africa. The variety of the city's population has played an essential role in
attracting Syrian refugees, who have frequently arrived through migratory networks of
relatives and friends. When immigrants could not recreate the area’s original attributes,
irregular urbanization resulted. Due to the region's proximity to the city center, it is
easy to notice a juxtaposition of dwellings, extravagant stores, luxurious residences,
and automobiles that attempt to conceal poverty. The urban poor, who cannot profit
equitably from the city's opportunities, reside in ancient houses in Basmane area,
depending on their social position and economic disparities (Kaya & Sarıkaya, 2020,
p.1239).

By 2016, Turkey had received over 3.6 million Syrian refugees, with 98 percent of
them staying in metropolitan areas; hence, urban adaptation is crucial for these massive
influxes of people. The western cities of Turkey were initially seen as transit points for
refugees trying to reach the EU’s borders (UNHCR 2016). In 2015, Yıldız and Uzgören
(2016) reported 74.000 registered Syrians in İzmir. Today the official population of
Syrian immigrants in İzmir has exceeded 150.000 (Kaya & Sarıyaka, 2020). Thus, it
has turned into a region where job-seeking immigrants from different cultures reside.
İzmir’s diverse population plays a significant role in attracting Syrian refugees, who
frequently arrive through migration networks of relatives and friends. Syrians are

59
distributed around the country in a patchwork pattern, with inequalities in financial
level, gender, age, religion, access to familiar or other support networks, health, and
aptitude for integration. According to Karadağ (2015), some of the city’s high-income
people have withdrawn into private spaces, while the city’s low-income citizens have
migrated away from the city’s central areas after getting jobs in the informal economy.
The multicultural, multi-identity, and heterogeneous structure of the region is a color
and richness (Karadağ, 2000). In this region where the immigrant population is
dominant, traditional neighborhood characteristics continue and neighborly relations
are strong. As a result of the large-scale Syrian migration, Basmane has become a
popular destination for Syrians. Except for İzmir province in overall and Konak district
in particular, the data in the table (Table 1.) is from the year 2017, and it was not
possible to obtain up-to-date information from any other areas. In the Konak, there are
35.094 Syrian refugees who have registered with the government (Çamur, 2017, p.64).

Table 1. Number of Registrations under Temporary Protection by Districts Source:

Provincial Immigration Administration (04.05.2017), Çamur, 2017

Basmane has been vulnerable to migration of the low-income group since 1950, when
urbanization intensified. Today, upper-middle-income groups live in the northern

60
section of Basmane, near Alsancak. In contrast, lower-income groups, immigrants
from neighboring cities, and, most recently, Syrian refugees live in the south. The
fundamental feature of this demographic is that it is low-income and exhibits
introverted, apathetic behavioral patterns influenced by urbanization. The region’s
historical and cultural institutions are also deteriorating due to this apathy. The area
has lost its socio-cultural qualities due to the settlement of families migrating from
eastern regions to the district and shifting people to alternative regions from there
(Beşikçi, 2014; Aydoğan, 2001).

Following the European Union and Turkey agreement, Basmane saw an exodus of
Syrians to other city districts closer to jobs, and the function and attitudes of Basmane
residents altered correspondingly. Some Basmane streets have significant
concentrations of Syrian refugees who wish to live in the neighborhood. The area
around Anafartalar Street has evolved into a node of Syrians, often referred to as a
‘Little Syria’ (Oner &Durmaz-Drinkwater & Grant, 2020, p.6). Numerous restaurants
specialize in Syrian food, and nearly all retail enterprises now have multilingual
Turkish and Arabic signage. It is busier in the nighttime hours than the Kemeraltı part
of Anafartalar, as it is a primary route close to Basmane Railway Station, fair, and
hotels area (Oner &Durmaz-Drinkwater & Grant, 2020, p.7).

Senem Sidal Eyinç (2015, p.75) surveyed to understand the demographic structures of
Syrian refugees and asylum seekers living in İzmir and to have information about their
life practices in Syria and İzmir. The districts where the survey was conducted were
Kadifekale, Agora, Basmane, and Ballıkuyu.Following the results of the survey. It was
discovered that a large proportion of the immigrant population is composed of young
adults between the ages of 25 and 35. (Eyinç, 2015, p.75). Due to the language problem,
even professional individuals work in unskilled jobs with meager salaries. For example,
some people are doctors in Syria and work as junkman in Basmane (Eyinç, 2015).

To sum up, Basmane has developed into a region with existing historic structures and
attractive places combined with the immigrant population. The participation of
immigrants in the streets and the economic well-being of the communities had an
impact on the overall texture of the neighborhood. As a result, Basmane's demographic
characteristics have enabled children to play in the street and women to converse on

61
the front porch. These practices are perceived as a beneficial aspect of Basmane streets,
which come alive with everyday activity by both users and investors.

The physical qualities of the built environment, including centrality, location, locality,
historical architectural heritage, affordability, and public spaces, help immigrant
communities feel themself more at home in their new community and give possibilities
for integration. The physical characteristics of Basmane, attraction points, and
distinctive historical structures of the area will be discussed in further detail in the next
section.

3.2. Physical Characteristics of Basmane

Basmane region served as the principal entrance point from Anatolia throughout the
Ottoman Empire and the early years of the Turkish Republic. It was a region where
well-off families resided in mentions and residences with gardens (Aydoğan, 2001).
Economic and social developments in the organization of society impacted the
physical areas and regions of the city. Different user groups of diverse cultures and an
expanding number of people have developed new centers, demonstrating that towns’
natural look and historical structure have faded out or been destroyed (Beşikçi, 2014;
Aydoğan, 2001).

In terms of physical and sociological aspects, the north and south of Basmane are
different (Figure 3.5.). The north of the territory leading up to Alsancak is populated
by middle-income groups. In contrast, the southern section is populated by lower-
income groups and immigrants, particularly Syrian refugees, who have settled there.
Upscale enterprises, hotels, restaurants, entertainment, nightlife, and cultural and
artistic events are often found in the north of Basmane (Çalıkoğlu, 2019, p.82). Small
shopkeepers, forgotten professions and handicrafts, and old but neglected streets may
be found in Basmane’s southern part. This division is represented in the physical layout
of the city center and architecture. The area is composed of circular avenues and
triangular squares; the northern section of the Basmane was constructed according to
the Danger-Prost design in 1925. As a result, the characteristics of a typical urban
fabric comprised of irregularly shaped tiny side alleys may be seen in the southern area
of Basmane (Çalıkoğlu, 2019, p. 82).

62
 Figure 3.5. The physical characteristics of the southern parts of Basmane (By the
author)

These typological contrasts between northern and southern regions and districts can
be detected due to the differences in the lifestyles of different groups in the two regions
and neighborhoods. While the coastline area of Konak has a modern appearance, the
slopes of Kadifekale in the area which is back side of the Konak, have texture that
contrasts with the modern aspect (Ballice, 2004). Poverty is the most apparent reason
for shaping Basmane’s physical characteristics. Rapid urbanization, increasing poverty,
and overpopulation all effected the deterioration of the area, which appears
aesthetically and perceptually chaotic, run down, irregular, and illegible (Çalıkoğlu,
2019, p. 26). Nevertheless, Basmane is an essential part of the Kemeraltı Historic Site,
which is the traditional center of the city that is still very much in use as the promonent
bazaar. Even though Kemeraltı is an Urban Historical Site, it is classified as a Third
Degree Archaeological Site. Additionally, it contains First Degree Archaeological and
Natural Sites. The Konak Municipality has carried out several research projects and
initiatives relating to the Kemeralti Urban Historical Site. The 1/5000 scaled
“Conservation Zoning Plan”, created for preserving this region, took a cautious and
conservative approach (İzmir Konak Municipality, 2002).

In Basmane, It is possible to discover signs of prior historical significance in the

physical form and spatial arrangement of buildings within this chaotic urban form,
regardless of whether they have been abandoned or preserved and renovated. Because

63
of neglect, the physical condition of these historical structures is deteriorating. When
the wrought iron on the windows and papers is removed from these structures, which
have historical identity value, they are sold to scrap merchants, and the timber building
elements such as door and stair rails are utilized for space heating by new inhabitants
who do not pay attention to these structures (Kalaycı, 2020).

Kortejo (Cortijo) is Spanish and means farmhouse can be seen in Basmane. The origin
of the cortejos is the cohors, which point to the villas with courtyards of the Roman
Period, the caravanserais built on the trade route that traverses Anatolia in the Persian
Period, or the houses surrounded by high walls, which were made compulsory during
the isolation of the Jews in the Byzantine Period. These historically significant
collective shelters, which are also designated as cultural properties of the second
degree, are often accessible by a short road (Bora, 2018, p.64). Cortijo is a unique
type of architecture that contains private spaces built along a corridor with communal
areas including a bathroom and kitchen, with everything overlooking a courtyard. The
cortejo is a unique architectural type comprised of individual rooms arranged along a
hallway facing a central courtyard and social spaces such as the kitchen and toilet.
Today cortijos occupied by the Jewish population in the region are in ruins, have been
destroyed, or are no longer visible. Throughout Basmane, numerous Cortijos are now
used as inexpensive hotels or fabric design studios (Beşikçi, 2016).

Anafartalar Street, one of the most important axes in Basmane, is also one of the most
intriguing sub-areas in the region. The majority of the buildings are situated on two-
story, narrow, and historically significant parcels. Aside from that, according to the
data, the bottom floor is utilized for trade, and the higher floors are used as warehouses.
With its historical textural features and registered structures, the street is one of the
most notable axes of the city. Along the street line up to Hatuniye Square, there are
five monumentally registered buildings, three monumentally registered parcels, and
numerous registered parcels of civil architecture. The majority of the surviving parts
have been designated as protected structures. Registered monuments include the Police
Memorial House, Hasan Hoca Mosque, Tevfik Paşa Turkish Baths, the Luxury Turkis
Baths, Hatuniye Mosque, and the Dönertaş Fountain, which are located in case study
area. The buildings along Anafartalar Street are old; on the other hand, modern and

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multi-story structures can be found along Fevzipaşa Street, which is relatively new
(İzmir Architectural Guide, 2005).

The İzmir History Project encompasses the region surrounded by FevziPaşa Boulevard
and Gaziler Street in the north and the Kemeraltı urban historical site and the
Kadifekale urban redevelopment area, which are all located inside the city limits. The
project area has a significant amount of archeological and cultural resources and a
significant amount of historic building stock which includes Basmane and Anafartalar
Street (Figure 3. 6.) (Tekeli, 2015).

Figure 3.6. 2nd Stage work area Anafartalar Street,

Source: İzmir History Project Design Strategy Report, p.78

During the workshop for the ‘İzmir History Project’ in 2013, the physical
characteristics of the Basmane were analyzed, and the adverse conditions that existed
in the region were assessed. According to the study's findings, historical buildings are
on the verge of collapse due to neglect. This condition generates physical access
limitations in the region. Due to the area's narrow streets and demolished buildings,
there is a necessity for urban public space. According to the survey, the region
needs playgrounds, women's production areas, and parks (Tekeli, 2015).

As a result, while analyzing the physical characteristic of Basmane, two

typographically separate sections are identified. Considering the region's social,
economic, and migration situations, traditional narrow streets and irregular settlements

65
were noticed on the Basmane side of Kadifekale's outskirts. Meanwhile, a planned
settlement was observed on the Alsancak part. The important building stock in
Basmane and Anafartalar Street, which has become a separate area in the city with
their physical features despite being located in the center of the city, will be presented
in the next section.

3.3. Building Stock in Basmane

Basmane contains important historical sites and monumental buildings. The historical
texture dates back to the end of the 16th century and the beginning of the 17th century.
Within Basmane’s boundaries, monumental structures have not survived but have been
identified from historical sources and registered/historical values to be protected.
(Oner & Durmaz-Drinkwater & Grant, 2021, p. 10). The historic protected buildings
are also a source of information about the city’s changes and evolution concerning its
natural surroundings. Basmane has always been a multi-ethnic enclave, with mosques,
churches, and synagogues populating the landscape. It is still possible to detect
evidence of this ethnic richness in the historic built environment (Beşikçi, 2016).
Irrespective of whether the structures are abandoned or well-maintained and
refurbished, traces of previous historical significance may be seen in the constructed
form and spatial arrangement and the surrounding landscape. Numerous structures in
the region are vacant and in need of renovation. Despite this, many historic İzmir
houses in the region have been transformed into hotels and museums, ensuring that
their histories are preserved. The refugees were temporarily accommodated in
Basmane's abandoned buildings. There have been several accidents and fires due to
the immigrants’ possession of these dangerous dwellings (Oner & Durmaz-Drinkwater
& Grant, 2021, p. 10).

Some of the mosques built after the 16th century during the Ottoman Empire are still
standing today and are an essential part of the city’s historical fabric. Hatuniye Mosque
and Hacı Hasan Mosque are two mosques documented in the area. Mosques, tombs,
motels, fountains, public fountains, and baths are examples of historical textures
observed today (Perşembe & Gönç, 2018, p. 19). Also, Basmane is an area that has
lately become known for its adaptive reuse projects. Examples include the İzmir
Women's Museum, which opened in 2014 and was the first of its kind in Turkey, and
the Radio and Democracy Museum, which was transformed from an ancient home in

66
İzmir. ‘Basmane Hotels Street Rehabilitation and Revitalization Project’, which
encompasses a whole hotel street, is the most significant of all the adaptive reuse
initiatives. In the early 2000s, this street was refurbished, with the outside facades and
infrastructure of the buildings renewed. In 2005, the Historical Cities Association
awarded this street project the Urban Transformation Award (Kayın, 2004).
Additionally, the Konak Municipality has established a historical golden triangle
region that includes Basmane, Agora, and Kemeraltı neighborhoods. This chosen axis
aims to conserve the city's historical legacy and bring it back to life in collaboration
with the residents. It is also possible to visit Altınpark Archaeological Site and Church
of St. Vukolos, which are located on the old Magnesia road. It is hoped that this
initiative would make Basmane's history more apparent while also contributing to the
development of the tourism industry (Konak, 2021).

There are the many housing types available in the region. Residential structures from
many cultures: Turkish dwellings, Jewish residences (Cortijo), Levantine residences,
Greek, and Armenian structures (Erpi, 1991). In Basmane there are three sorts of
historical buildings: single-story commercial buildings, two-story commercial
buildings with the lower level being commercial and the upper floor being a warehouse,
and two-story commercial buildings with the lower floor being commercial and the
higher floor being residential. Aside from this, other residential structures have been
converted to commercial use. Anafartalar Street and the immediate surrounding have
been identified as the main hotspots. These historical sites and buildings are under
protection by the Turkish government. For a better understanding of the multi-layered
structure of the area, the cultural and registered building stock of the region will be
explored.

Basmane Train Station: Basmane Train Station was built as part of a 19th century
railway investment by Europeans to enhance trade between the İzmir port and the ports
near the region. Also, Basmane Train Station plays a crucial role in linking Çeşme,
Kuşadası, Bodrum and Greek island of Chios to the southeast of Turkey through İzmir.
The train station is the first building that travelers by railway encounter when they
enter the city (Kayın, 2010).

Altınpark Archaeological Site: The Altınpark Archaeological Site was discovered

during excavations that began in 2008. The area includes information on İzmir’s

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ancient housing-settlement knowledge and culture. In order to conserve the region and
integrate it into urban culture, the Konak Municipality is developing several legislation
and projects. Altınpark’s popularity with local and international tourists and its
incorporation into the urban fabric makes the area a significant cultural destination in
Basmane and the surrounding region (Kutlu, 2017, p.72).

Agora Archaeological Site: The Agora dates back to the 4th century BC. The Agora of
İzmir was placed on the World Historical Tentative List in 2020 as a part of the
UNESCO-designated ‘İzmir Historical Port City’ historic area. Ancient Agora of
Smryna is an urban historic landmark that is perceived in an urban environment and
has tourism potential. It delivers a trade proposal entirely for tourism to the city's
conservation plan (Kutlu, 2017, p. 75).

Cortijos and Family House: It is an important building showing the multiethnic

structure of Basmane. Cortijos, also known as the family house or the Jewish house,
is located on Anafartalar Street and the streets parallel to it. Most historic cortijos
feature large gates that open into an extended courtyard, which may be accessed
through entrance gates. The buildings are typically two or three stories tall, with each
floor housing several small rooms (each measuring 8 to 10 square meters) connected
by a gallery. In-room sinks and commodes are not provided (Bora, 2018).

Church of St. Vukolos: It is one of the most important architectural structures of İzmir
city history. The Orthodox Greek church, built-in 1886, was put into service as Asar-ı
Atika Museum in 1922. It was renamed İzmir Archeology Museum in 1943 until 1951,
when the museum building in Kültürpark was opened. The church, which has been
neglected and devastated in recent years, was restored by the İzmir Metropolitan
Municipality (Altınışık, 2004).

Police Memorial House of İzmir: The Police Memorial House was constructed in 1913
near the Eşrefpaşa exit of the Anafartalar Street in Mezarlıkbaşı. (Erten, 2017, p. 28).

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 Figure 3.7. Cultural attraction points and building stock on Anafartalar Street
(By the author).

Hasan Hoca Mosque: This Mosque is located on Anafartalar Street. The mosque,
which was abandoned in the early 1970s, is still used today in its original condition.
Hasan Hoca Mosque has been designated as a Cultural Heritage to be Protected by the
Turkish government (Erten, 2017, p. 26).

Hatuniye Mosque and Square: In the 17th century, Hatuniye Mosque was built on
Anafartalar Street. In the place of the madrasah, which has since been demolished, a
park was established. It is the densest public space, serving a variety of functions in
the past and present, including meeting, gathering, and resting. The historical mosque
is accessible for service, with its columned altar, pulpit, women’s lounge, dome, and
hand-drawn works on the walls (Perşembe & Gönç, 2018, p. 19).

Emir Sultan Tomb: The tomb and zaviye have unique significance because the Turkish
settlement in İzmir grew up around this religious site. The zaviye expanded throughout
time as the graveyard, Turkish bath, dervish lodge, and soup kitchen were built around
the tomb (Bozkurt & Kutlu & Özlen, 2015).

Kadı Turkish Bath: The Turkish Bath located on Anafartalar Street is a double bath. It
consists of men’s and women’s sections (Erten, 2017, p. 27).

69
Tevfik Paşa Turkish Bath: The bath is located on Anafartalar Street near Hasan Hoca
Mosque, and is still functioning. It is facing in wood and has a basement floor. The
structure, for which no precise date of construction is known, has characteristics of the
Westernization Period of the Ottoman Empire and is, thus, dated to the end of the 18th
century at the earliest (Erten, 2017, p. 27).

Kıllıoğlu Turkish Bath: The bath is located in the part of the Anafartalar Street where
trade functions are intense. Today, the bath is almost destroyed, with only the thermal
section and some walls of the structure still standing. Konak Municipality has started
work to restore the bath, which is currently used as a coal warehouse with open and
semi-open spaces (Kutlu, 2017, p.75).

Dönertaş Fountain: The fountain is located at the corner where Anafartalar Street and
945. Street intersect. It is a square-planned, single-domed building dating back to the
early 19th century. It was restored by Izmir Metropolitan Municipality in 2006 (Erten,
2017, p. 27).

3.4. The Focus Area: Anafartalar Street in Basmane District

Basmane region, more precisely Anafartalar Street, is one of İzmir’s most significant
neighborhoods. This region’s rich past has remained hidden, and its social and physical
dynamics have shifted throughout time, most notably during the immigrant influx.

The main focus of the study concentrated on the line where Anafartalar Street is located.
The research area extends from the entrance to the multi-story car park on Anafartalar
Street (the part above the Agora), through Hatuniye Square, and finalizes at the
intersection of Anafartalar Street and the Altnpark archaeological site. While this area
serves as an urban corridor, it also has cultural variety, social values, and historical
significance. Simultaneously, this axis reaches the research region, where the İzmir
History Project’s operating plans are necessary for the area’s revitalization through
tourism (Kutlu, 2014, p. 67).

For generations, Anafartalar Street has been regarded as the primary passage linking
İzmir to the Basmane railway station and hotels region and Anatolia. There are
gourmet experience places on the street, such as bakeries and dessert stores that feel
like a district bazaar.

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The street locations are as follows: Agora-Kadifekale is located in the bottom half,
Fevzipaşa Street is located in the north, İkiçeşmelik Street is located in the northeast,
and Historical Kemeralti Bazaar is located in the south-east (Figure 3. 8.). It is a
continuation and extension of the Historical Kemeraltı Bazaar to the west. Although
Anafartalar Street is located inside the 3rd Degree Archaeological Site’s boundaries,
the street is in a convenient and easily accessible position due to its proximity to both
the railway station and the İkiçeşmelik and Fevzipaşa Boulevards. The street is lined
by old inns, Turkish baths, small gardens, squares, and hotels, as mentioned in the
previous chapter.

Figure 3.8. Anafartalar Street (By the author)

In 2014, a workshop on Anafartalar Street Stage Region was held as part of the İzmir
History project. This workshop found the places where the region’s traditional
shopping culture is still alive and the places and structures with potential

(Kutlu, 2014, p.67). In addition, a mapping study was conducted to determine the
position of other constructions that have not survived to the present day. Thus, the
Problem-Potential Map for the area was developed (Figure 3.9.). Considering the
research findings, when the problematic and prospective areas of the region are
examined, Hatuniye Square is a separated and elevated area. The majority of
participants identified this region as both the most problematic and the most promising
in the entire area. Because of the presence of street vendors in the area, traffic control

71
and infrastructure concerns, security issues, the degradation of the historical building,
and a decline in the quality of traditional activities were all identified as negative
features of the location by the researchers. Hatuniye Square is also defined as the
common point of the region’s physical connection with the hotels district and Tilkilik
residential city texture (Kutlu, 2014, p.65).

Figure 3.9. Problem-Potential Map of Anafartalar Street 2nd Stage Region

Source: Anafartalar Street 2nd Stage Region Operation Plans, Kutlu, 2014, p.65.

In addition, many buildings that have the characteristics of historical artifacts that need
to be protected in the region and the structures where traditional commercial activities
are carried out have been determined as values. This area, which serves primaril
connection between İkiçeşmelik Street and Basmane Square, is mainly occupied by
commercial functions. Commercial activities in the area between Basmane Square and
Hatuniye Square cater to the daily needs of the area. Other activities are organized
between Hatuniye Square and İkiçeşmelik Street such as social events and meetings.
Additionally, the region’s remaining Cortejos contribute to the accommodation needs
in the area.

The district was developed as the commercial region and has remained functional to
the present day. For this reason, it is also seen as an impressive “experience” area
where the continuity of traditional commercial activities is followed. These traditional
shops such as lokmacı, greengrocer, butcher, and bakery enable visitors from different
parts of the city to interact with the region. Due to these commercial activities, it is
ensured that the traditional and cultural continuity of the region is preserved, and its
awareness is increased (Kutlu, 2014, p.69).

72
Low-income residents generally populate Anafartalar Street and its surroundings. The
region close to the hotels zone is also a site where users who have become part of the
city’s social fabric through internal migration or as refugees can participate in social
activities and meet their basic requirements. Due to its cultural characteristics, the
region has a high level of potential as a social activity center, but it has seen no signs
of improvement. The reasons why Anafartalar Street and its surroundings were chosen
as the research area is because it is one of the city's historical locations rich in cultural
and historical heritage sites, and it accommodates a variety of cultural backgrounds as
the city's most densely populated settlement for immigrants in recent years.

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 CHAPTER 4
PRACTICES IN SPACES BETWEEN BUILDINGS: BASMANE

This chapter discusses urban voids in the Basmane area as urban interiors by focusing
on their physical characteristics and spatial practices. Urban voids as urban interiors
are studied in their relationship to the surrounding environment from the standpoint of
their users. In physical terms, interiors are defined by vertical and horizontal planes,
such as walls, separators, overhangs, ceilings, doors, setting boundaries and/or
transitions. These planes define the quantitative dimensions and boundaries of the
space and give the feeling of being inside (Ching, 1997, p.212). In this way, these
planes help to create an enclosure and a place of shelter, among other things. Attiwil
(2011, p.11-24) mentions that urban interiors are places that become temporary,
experimental, and experiential spaces that host various activities by transforming
people's living, working, playing, selling, exhibiting, and similar actions in their living
to outdoor spaces. Urban voids with similar spatial elements or qualities often contain
the characteristics of interiors; therefore, they are suitable for the definition of the
interior. In this respect, voids between buildings could potentially be urban interior
spaces.

In this study, the Basmane neighborhood is defined as the link between the users of
Anafartalar Street and its immediate surroundings. This area is utilized as a case study
to investigate and categorize public spaces in the framework of urban interiors and
their spatial practices. First, the potential public spaces between building are
categorized according to their interior physical characteristics. The identified urban
voids are grouped according to their physical characteristics based on Frank Ching's
(1996) horizontal and vertical planes that define the space. This categorization was
made by observing daily life activities in the case study area and the frequency of their
occurrence by photographing and sketching in the area. Second, everyday activities in
these spaces and the processes that lead to their creation is investigated. Finally, how

75
these areas, which are conceptualized as urban interiors, are replicated via the
behaviors of everyday life practices will be discussed.

4.1. Physical Characteristics

The urban voids in the inner portions of the Basmane district are analyzed and their
potentials are assessed within the framework of the urban interior concept, as discussed
in Chapter 2. These voids, as urban elements/spaces, are categorized to determine the
interior and exterior interaction and their physical characteristics.

The density of buildings and informalities, together with a dense population that
widely composed of low-income national and international migrants, create a compact
urban environment. In this environment, small open areas or urban voids between
buildings are considered as urban interiors. Some spaces between buildings have
formed organically due to the needs and functions of the communities living there.
Without any planning, spaces are created and used on a temporary basis. This thesis
argues that identifying these open spaces between the buildings as potentially usable
urban interior spaces might serve as a guide for the future development of the Basmane
region.

Urban voids sometimes appear as undesirable and unsafe spaces for users. While many
of these voids are seen as undesirable or left over areas, they have the potential to add
to the value of the urban spaces (Trancik, 1986, p.4). Based on the detailed research of
the Basmane area in Chapter 3, a solid-void analysis carried out to determine the voids
between buildings on Anafartalar Street and its surroundings, consisting of a complex,
dense and traditional texture. A solid-void analysis is a technique for identifying gaps
in a specific area, frame, or context (Hamelin, 2016). This analysis identifies urban
voids in the case study area that can turn into public spaces. Thus, void patterns and
relationships in the urban fabric can be determined, and vertical void areas can be
categorized. (Hamelin, 2016, p.7). This first analysis in the study area indicates the
urban voids and helps to explain the figure-ground relationship.

As a result of the analysis, the physical forms of the voids and their relationships with
one another is explored. Additionally, the urban history of the region's development is
also considered in the process of analyses, and the current use of the voids is evaluated.

76
Urban masses are represented in black while voids are shown in white on the solid-
void map (Figure 4.1.).

Figure 4.1. Anafartalar Street, Solid-Void Map (By the author)

The solid-void analysis shows that the largest gaps in the area were created by
Hatuniye Square and the Altınpark Archaeological Site. Another urban void that can
be perceived on an urban scale is the parking lot located to the west of Hatuniye Square.
The analysis also shows that the solid urban ratio was high in the case study area. On
the one hand, solid composition increases in the direction of Kadifekale, resulting in a
crowded and chaotic appearance. On the other hand, this fragmented and unpredictable
urban structure has various voids on Anafartalar Street. Parking lots, small squares,
alleyways, niches, and dead ends are the main types of urban voids that are identified
separately.

As a result of a combined analysis of Google Earth aerial photographs, sketches, and

site visits, urban voids are recognized to have the potential to transform into urban
interiors. Planes are required to identify and characterize interior spaces due to their
physical characteristics. These planes define the quantitative dimensions and
boundaries of the space and give the feeling of an interior. Ching (1997, p.212) defines

77
physical space with two types of the plane: horizontal and vertical planes. Vertical
planes that define space are usually more active than horizontal planes in user
perception that give the space a strong sense of being inside. Also, the overhead plane
is one of the main spatial descriptors that creates the interior atmosphere. The
overhead plane can diversify the spatial experience depending on its distance from the
ground plane in the void. As the distance of the overhead plane from the base plane
decreases, its relation to the human scale and the ratio of natural light decreases, and
the sound echo changes; thus, as a result, the interior atmosphere can increase in the
privatized area. The interaction of physical factors such as weather, light, and sound
with the user may vary according to the plane's location. Also, White (1999), focuses
on urban public spaces from the perspective of users and categorizes them as roads,
portals, and places based on their physical attributes and human activities. In this thesis,
the physical spaces that produce a sense of interior space are also identified and
categorized from the users' perspective.

White (1999) characterizes the interior spaces in urban areas as containers.

A container is a spatial volume that is space-delimited by boundary planes. The
categorization of container types into nine groups is based on the position of sensory
border planes inside the container like: single plane, L-shaped, U-shaped, corner, dead-
end, C-shaped, enclosed, multiple planes and tunnel (Başarır, 2015, p.15-24).

The physical and spatial characteristics of Anafartalar Street and its immediate
surroundings will be categorized according to container typologies as follows:

The first type of container is classified as a single plane container. According to Ching
(1996, p. 99), a horizontal plane can be regarded as a figure if there is a noticeable
difference in level, color, tone, or texture between its surface and the surrounding
ground. However, even though space always flows across it, the field still forms a
spatial zone or realm inside its bounds. The ground or floor plane’s surface articulation
in architecture is commonly utilized to identify a specific area (Ching, 1996, p.99)
(Figure 4.2.). Single planes can be viewed as floor patterns, level differences, or
material composition changes on the ground plane. Pedestrian crossings on roadways,
elevated smoking zones, and textural contrasts such as stone tiling on grass are just a
few examples from urban environments. These, with their tangible and invisible
borders, contribute to a feeling of spatial diversity (Başarır, 2015, p.17).

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Figure 4.2. Single Plane. Source: Architecture: Form, Space, & Order (Ching, 1996,
p. 99), New York: John Wiley & Sons.

0
Figure 4.3. Single Plane, Flooring separated from street level
Source: Photograph and sketch by the author, 2022

The single planes are the first of the repeatedly observed urban container types along
the Anafartalar Street axis. They are elevated by one step from the street level,
separated, and privatized (Figure 4.3.). These sections are covered with ceramics that
have a different texture from the existing roadway material and serve to distinguish
them as a distinct zone. The space defined by the single plane has the characteristics
of an urban interior with its different materials and level differences. Additionally,
these places have distinct use contexts. However, even though there is a constant flow
on the street, the elevated floors are utilized as locations for lounging, relaxing, and
socializing. In other words, they are separated from the street and assigned for a
different usage. This single surface, usually found in front of cafes and coffee shops,
is used by people as a sitting area in everyday life. The interface is created in which
the cafe's interior overflows to the outside, and the surface is reshaped by being
internalized by the user. Although there is a continuous flow in Anafartalar Street, this

79
defined single plane turns into an optional activities center as a place to rest, wait and
socialize (Gehl, 1989, p.9). In addition to being locations where optional activities can
take place, these spaces are places where individuals from all cultures come together,
connect and communicate, thus eliminating differences and alienation.

U- Shaped forms are defined by three planes; one on the ground and a pair of parallel
vertical planes on opposing sides that define a void between them and create a sense
of interior (Ching, 1996, p. 121) (Figure 4.4.). This type of enclosed feeling is
commonly felt on narrow streets and corridors in urban areas. The fact that vertical
planes have different properties in terms of length or material creates an interior
atmosphere from the user's perspective (Asadollahi, 2018, p. 37).

Figure 4.4. U-Shaped. Source: Architecture: Form, Space, & Order (Ching, 1996, p.
121), New York: John Wiley & Sons.

The most distinguished urban voids analyzed in Basmane are narrow streets defined
by three planes as a pair of parallel vertical planes. In Basmane, where these narrow
inner streets exist are populated mainly by low-income citizens from different
backgrounds. They are rich in complexity, diversity, and density; hence they are
capable of generating spontaneous interpersonal encounters (Ubeyrathne, 1999, p.86).

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 Figure 4.5. U-Shaped form, Narrow streets
Source: Photograph and sketch by the author 2022

U-shaped form inner streets (Figure 4.5.), which have different texture and physical
characteristics than Anafartalar Street, create more specialized and private areas in
Basmane. This form, which resembles a kind of corridor, creates more of a sense of
closure than the type of space defined by a single plane. The closeness of the buildings
to each other, the shady environment and a distinct microclimate cause this space to
be perceived as an interior space. Additionally, it is possible to describe narrow streets
as a space that serves as a transition zone from crowded public spaces to calm private
areas. Thus, access is limited to the number of vehicles. It is common to have seen
vehicles like rickshaws, motor scooters, and bicycles. The availability of such
vehicles appears to be essential to inhabitants throughout the entire area since they
might be helpful during a function or an emergency. Thus, narrow streets serve as
urban transportation channels in the local community.

Daily use also strengthens the sense of interiority in this urban interior, which are
defined by physical elements (Gehl, 1989, p.12). The residences, which open to narrow
streets, often have a front entrance accessed by stairs. These stairs are used as seating
elements in everyday life. In that case, front door stairs can be defined as a threshold
between where social activities happen and the private space, the house. Passive
contact, such as watching and listening to people passing by is the type of daily social
activity that defines the urban interior. Thus, in narrow streets, the life in the house
overflows into the street, and the street is then used as an extension of the house.

A physical intervention seen in Anafartalar Street and its immediate surroundings is

the canopy usage on the street (Figure 4.6.). These canopies are planes that help to

81
define space in the areas between buildings. C-Shaped formed urban interiors are
characterized by a canopy that extends above the ground and is composed of a
horizontal plane sustained by a vertical element that also serves as a border (Ching,
1996, p.146). Shade systems generally attach to the facades of buildings or space
between two buildings, and they define the area of users' circulation. Several further
examples may be found under buildings with exedras or arcades at the ground level of
the structures. Thus, with the overhead plane, it creates the impression of an interior
that is close to the user scale. (Başarır, 2015, p.20).

Figure 4.6. C-Shaped form, Anafartalar Street

Source: Photograph and sketch by the author, 2022

To sum up, the different sizes and materials of overhead planes' can create a transition
space between the shops and the street. At the same time, these transition areas are
used for sitting and socializing at various times of the day. Even in the early hours,
Anafartalar Street has a dynamic flow since it is an axis where shopping activities
occur. Street vendors also use the C-shaped form defined on Anafartalar Street for
shopping. In this context, street vendors create “temporary” urban interiors by creating
invisible boundaries and internalize the space within the urban void. Therefore, this
urban interior is frequently crowded and dynamic at any time of the day.

Tunnel forms create a public gallery or private hallway that connect areas through wall-
plane openings. Tunnels are often subterranean or ground-level passageways, bazaars,
or unique urban features (Ching, 1996, p.114) (Figure 4.7.). This type of urban interior
is formed by four parallel planar surfaces. A small-contained route naturally promotes
forward movement. This type of container is one of the most crucial space types for
making an urban environment sense of the interior. In addition, narrow streets

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surrounded by plants or canopies create a tunnel-shaped interior atmosphere (Başarır,
2015, p.23).

Figure 4.7. Tunnel form. Source: Architecture: Form, Space, & Order (Ching, 1996,
p. 269), New York: John Wiley & Sons.

Figure 4.8. Left: Tunnels form, Anafartalar Street Right: Wires in narrow Street
Source: Photograph and sketch by the author, 2022

Cordan and Çolak (2015) state that bazaars with open, semi-open, or closed spatial
qualities temporarily occupying a part of the urban area are also examples of temporary
usage. These street markets on Anafartalar street are urban interior spaces that are
functionalized according to the users’ needs. This region, which contains a dense
concentration of people and commercial buildings, is an example of an urban interior
in which life takes place on the streets. It is not easy to perceive the street as outside
because of the enclosed feeling created by the form. Horizontal planes or top cover
that emerge from interventions such as eaves, pieces of fabric, plants, and dense wire
cables on the axis of Anafartalar Street contribute to the formation of the interior
atmosphere (Figure 4.8.). In other words, a type of top cover ensures protection from
the weather, thus interiorizing the street. The tunnel form emerging here not only
supports pedestrian movement and waiting on Anafartalar Street, but also extends the
shopping boundaries for sellers and buyers as an extension of the shops. In both cases,

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it creates urban interior spaces by blurring and questioning the border between interior
and exterior.

According to Ching (1996, p.114), Multiple planes create a field of separation between
themselves and the ground plane in the same way that a shade tree provides a sense of
enclosure under its canopy structure. The shape, size, and height of the overhead plane
affect standard features of the space since it defines the limits of the void. The ability
of an overhead plane to define a unique volume of space on its own, makes it an
essential tool for space planning. It is easier to see the boundaries of space if vertical
lines like columns or sticks are used to hold up the overhead plane. Multiple plane
columns help to see where the space is without affecting how they move through it.
(Ching, 1996, p.114) (Figure 4.9.). Temporal or permanent bazaars can be an example
of a repeating, large-scale urban interior with numerous planes, much as station
canopies might serve as one. Even public gardens can create an interior atmosphere
using tree branches and leaves. (Başarır, 2015, p.20).

Figure 4.9. Multiple Planes. Source: Architecture: Form, Space, & Order (Ching,
1996, p. 114), New York: John Wiley & Sons.

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 Figure 4.10. Left: Multiple planes with column Right: Multiple overhead planes
created with fabrics and eaves in Anafartalar Street Source: Photograph and sketch
by the author, 2022

Multiple planes are frequently found on the side streets directly connecting to
Anafartalar Street. Since the shape, size, and height of these multiple planes define the
boundaries of the space, it affects the standard features of the space. If vertical lines
such as column or sticks are used to support these multiple overhead planes in the
method seen in the Figure 4. 10., it becomes easy to determine the boundaries of the
space. Additionally, fabrics or textiles draped between buildings and the canopy and
balconies extending from the structures establish multiple planes. Thus, they provide
space definition, protection from weather – sun, rain, wind – and enclosure, giving a
sense of the interior.

Vertical planes arranged in a dead-end composition form a volume of space-oriented

urban interior space, especially toward the layout’s open end. (Ching, 1996, p.146)
(Figure 4.11.). The dead end is mainly located in streets that are well defined with their
closed-ended structure and narrow enough to provide a sense of the interior. People
use these locations for various reasons, such as street bazaars or outdoor café lounges.
Nevertheless, in certain circumstances, users may use these locations randomly and

85
without regard for any specified purpose, such as relaxing or spending free outside
time (Asadollahi, 2018, p.38).

Figure 4.11. Dead-end. Source: Architecture: Form, Space, & Order (Ching, 1996,
p. 146), New York: John Wiley & Sons.

Figure 4.12. Left: Dead-End, Anafartalar Street Right: Dead-End, Back street of the
region Source: Photograph and sketch by the author, 2022

In Basmane, dead ends serve as an extension of local shops and provide them extra
storage for cars and garbage bins (Figure 4.12.). Also, these areas often have a single
entrance, making them the least noticeable of the urban void categories. Because dead
ends connect to other urban voids and frequently have just a single entrance point, they
can introduce unexpected surprise places when users pass through from the narrow
streets to the larger dead end. On the one hand, the dead ends in the inner parts of the
district provide private gathering areas between the buildings, like a courtyard used as
a playground for children. Surrounding property owners use these large dead ends. In
the inner parts of the district, introverted and internalized places are formed opposite
the dead ends on Anafartalar Street. On the other hand, when dead ends have
connections to Anafartalar Street, they are quite different from the traditional sidewalk,
corridor or passage. These dead ends are spatialized by high walls and narrow ground
planes that limit the street’s physical area. Compared to streets or sidewalks, dead end

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streets create a sense of sociability and intimacy through their scale, character, and
range of activities. In Anafartalar Street, the dead-end streets are turned into an “open-
air room” utilized for socializing, with the color, texture, and top cover creating the
spatial closer at a human scale. It becomes a separate space from its surroundings when
its textures and variety of colors.

Thresholds can be found in various architectural and interior characteristics such as

gates, passages, bridges, porches, and other physical forms. However, the threshold
concept is explained as transcending actual movement from one part of space to
another. Being on the threshold contains the subjective aspect of the feeling of
transition or movement between different spatial elements (Atmodiwirjo, Yatmo, 2019,
p.108).

Figure 4.13. Home entrances as Threshold, Anafartalar Street

Source: Photograph and sketch by the author, 2022

The concept of a threshold is relevant to the discourse of interiority because it expands

our knowledge of the opposite inside-outside dialectic, which has become a common
component in interiority analysis. The front door entrances of houses, which are
frequently encountered in the Basmane region, do not open directly onto the street

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(Figure 4.13.). The front entrance of a home is often accessible by an inner corridor,
so the door does not open immediately onto the street. So, these corridors serve as a
preparation for the entry of the home and welcome visitors. These corridors are an
inactive part of everyday life but, their form creates an urban interior due to the
narrowness of the passage. In other words, it creates a third zone where the distinction
between inside and outside moves beyond physical boundaries. Thus, the threshold
defines the urban interior between private and public spaces.

Figure 4.14. Doorsteps as Threshold, Anafartalar Street

Source: Photograph and sketch by the author, 2022

According to Herman Hertzberger (1991, p.35), doorsteps and thresholds are

essential to transitioning and integrating spaces with different functions, and as a space
with its significance, they create opportunities for interaction between different areas.
In Hertzberger's concept, thresholds are crucial to social interactions and meetings,
such as a street on one side, a private space on the other, and the doorway to a dwelling
unit in between (1991, p.36). Thus, thresholds are the determining factor for spatial
conditions. In Basmane, children sit on the front doorstep of their home, which is part
of the street as well as their home, and feel both joy and safety about being in the
outside world (Figure 4.14.). In this respect, the doorsteps are seen as potential urban
interiors that affect the quality of the public space with the social activities that occur
spontaneously in daily life.

Voids located between two masses or along a street and the building facade can be
considered as niches. Niches are critical because they provide room for small-scale

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public activities such as informal trading, resting, and gathering. (Ubeyrathne, 1999,
p.86).

Figure 4.15. Niches between buildings, Anafartalar Street

Source: Photograph and sketch by the author, 2022

The niches identified in Basmane are mostly used as automobile parking spaces
(Figure 4.15.). These niches, with their vertical walls and well-defined spatial
character, have a strong sense of interiority. They are primarily found in the back alleys
of Basmane. Even though their major role is to offer parking lots, their smaller size
and enclosing nature produce urban interior space on a human scale. Furthermore,
niches can be developed as pocket parks that provide open space to the residents,
because they have the potential to be used as green spaces (Lee, Hwang, & Lee, 2015,
p.11).

The corner type is formed by merging two vertical planes outward from the corner.
(Ching, 1996, p. 121) (Figure 4. 16.). They are positioned where the vertical limits
defined by building facades or other planes intersect with the ground plane. These
corners should be proportional to the human scale for creating a sense of interiority.
This corner type is common in old metropolises where buildings are close to each other.
In medieval European towns such as Italy, little squares known as “piazza” are
frequently found, which may feature a corner-type urban interior (Asadollahi, 2018,
p.38).

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 Figure 4.16. Corner type. Source: Architecture: Form, Space, & Order (Ching,
1996, p. 121), New York: John Wiley & Sons.

Figure 4.17. Corner Type, Left: Parking Lot Right: Hatuniye Square as a Corner
Urban Interior Source: Photograph and sketch by the author, 2022

The largest urban void identified through the solid-void analysis in the research area
is Hatuniye Square, and the land north of the square, which is currently being used as
a parking lot (Figure 4.17.). Hatuniye Square is an example of a corner urban interior
stretching along a diagonal axis from the corner outward. The square is characterized
by the intersection of the vertical boundaries defined by building facades or other
planes intersecting with the ground plane. These corners create an indoor atmosphere
by being used as the house's living room with the users' interventions for socializing.

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One of the most essential buildings on the Anafartalar Street is the Hatuniye Mosque,
which has a wider open area than the surrounding mosques and is located at the corner
of the Hatuniye Square. It is an attraction point for the people who use the large square
next to the mosque for socializing before and after Friday prayers (Aygüneş, 2008). In
this meeting place, there are many organizations such as various entertainment and
cultural events that are held throughout the year and, as a result, create an attraction
center in Basmane. In other words, Hatuniye Square can be defined as the ‘living room’
in Basmane where users come together and perform various activities in everyday life.
It is a lively place that has the potential of housing cultural events and interaction
among Basmane’s diverse population.

A street corner is where the built enclosure at the bend meets the outside world. People
meet at places where crossroads intersect with the main road. As a result, the street
corner faces both the intersection and the major road (Ubeyrathne, 1999, p.99).

Figure 4.18. Street Corner Type

Source: Photograph and sketch by the author, 2022

These small-scale open spaces are observed in the urban realm as a transition zone
from a side street to the main street (Figure 4.18.). Some of these corners are meeting
places for small-scale public events, while others serve as parking spaces for vehicles.
These areas, separated from the street level by steps, turn into a resting and socializing
areas with the addition of shade and sitting features for the users. Additionally, street
corners are where street vendors are often found. In that case, these transitional street
corners can become focal points in Basmane.

To sum up, the urban interior spaces between the buildings in Anafartalar Street and
its immediate surroundings were determined by the solid-void analysis. Then the

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physical characteristics of the spaces are examined. Observations in Basmane have
shown the formation of an urban pattern in which the physical boundaries between
interior and exterior spaces are transparent to everyday life. In order to better define
this pattern, urban interiors, whose physical characteristics are investigated, will be
further examined in terms of spatial practices in the next section.

4.2. Spatial Practices

Physical characteristics construct space and organize everyday life in that space.
According to the physical characteristics of urban interiors as discussed in the previous
section, the spatial practices will futher be discussed in the urban voids that are
identified and categorized. Spatial practices are charted through an observation of
everyday life of the users along Anafartalar Street and its immediate surroundings. The
observations and analyses are based on two major questions: How are these areas
reproduced as urban interiors through daily practices? How do the users reproduce
spaces in and around Anafartalar Street within the scope of the concept of interiority?

Beyond separating spaces as interior-exterior and public-private, urban interiors have

the potential to create new socio-spatial buffer zones by engaging the inside and
outside in an instant, human-centered manner. The urban interior extends the
boundaries of its definition and encompasses a sense of belonging and interiority.
Everyday life and spatial practices create an interior in urban space. In other words,
the feeling of interior formed by everyday life practices defines the space with the user
(Sözgen, 2021). The space becomes a part of the user's inner world.

The word ‘everyday’ is defined as “happening or used everyday” or “encountered or

used routinely or typically” (Oxford Dictionary, 2022). “Everyday life” is a notion that
encompasses not only an individual’s daily habits, rituals, attitudes, and actions, but
also the collective culture and values of a whole society. Everyday life knowledge of
space provides a subjective and experiencing perspective from inside the space, rather
than a distant and objective view of the space (Sarıkaya, 2019, p.13). In everyday life,
the users develop a relationship with the environment based on their subjective
experiences. As a result of this link between the users and the space, the space is
modified and reproduced by the users' everyday activities.

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The urban philosopher and sociologist Henri Lefebvre (1971, p.280) argues that
everyday human routines are made of many repetitions. Everyday life consists of
repeated actions, work and non-work moments, mechanical, bodily motions, hours,
days, weeks, years, and linear and cyclical activities. He defines everyday life as
follows:

Friendship, companionship, love, the need for communication occurs and

integrates entirely in everyday life. These are not the transition from everyday
life to a private space, as widely thought. On the contrary, to participate in daily
life, that is to belong to it (Lefebvre, 1971, p.280).

Lefebvre’s book The Production of Space (1991, p.14) deals with organizational space
as a physical product (physical), the interaction between social and spatial structures
of urbanism (social), and the ideological content of socially generated space (mental).
The triad is composed of three main parts: spatial practice, representations of space,
and representational space (Lefebvre, 1991, p.15). Each part conflicts with the other
parts. The spatial practice is the way people make and use space in their daily lives. It
is where power is used by people who use the space.

Representational space refers to the place where practice and ideology meet. Although
it is constrained by representations of space, in other words, controlled by and
passively experienced by occupants and users, it remains accessible to emancipatory
and resistive possibilities. It develops into a “lived space” in which ideal forms and
social movements can occur (Lefebvre, 1991, p.39). Everyday life is a concept that
includes the activities of individuals and shapes social life. Spatial practices that
emerge as a result of the reproduction of spaces with the routines and experiences of
society in everyday life enable each society to create its own unique space. Therefore,
the spatial practices of Basmane, distinguished by socio-cultural and spatial diversity,
can be discussed over the concept of urban interior. The concept of the urban interior
is a product of both sensory and mental processes. The sensory and mental space
perception revealed by everyday activities in the urban setting can produce an inside-
outside dialectic.

On an average day, pedestrians cross the sidewalk, children play near the front doors,
people sit on benches and the front steps, those on the sidewalk greet passersby, and
groups of people talk on Anafartalar Street in Basmane. A variety of environmental

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factors and the physical character of Basmane affect this combination of outdoor
activities to varying degrees. In this respect, Gehl (1989, p.9) classifies outdoor
activities in public areas into three types, each of which imposes a significantly
different burden on the physical environment: necessary activities, optional activities,
and social activities.

Necessary activities include going to school or work, shopping, waiting for a bus or a
person, errands, and other more or less mandatory activities. In other words, according
to Gehl (1989, p.10), any activities in which people are obligated to participate to a
greater or lesser degree are examples of necessary activities.

The C-shaped urban interiors described in the previous section on Anafartalar Street
and Hatuniye Square are used by street vendors for shopping, a necessary activity in
everyday life (Figure 4.19.). Shopping activity continues in C-shaped urban interiors
throughout the year, unaffected by the external environment and weather conditions.

Figure 4.19. Street Vendors, Necessary activities Source: Photograph by the author,
2022

Lefebvre (2015, p.103) argues that every product occupying space creates and shapes
it. Every product occupies a space in circulation within the space. Space and places are

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occupied in the process of social creation. Lefebvre (2015, p.188) links space with the
human body and claims that each body is space. In this respect, it has been observed
that street vendors, in Hatuniye Square, define a place for themselves as human bodies
between two cars or on the pavement.

Furthermore, Benjamin (1999, p.421) observes that people self-organize to use these
areas. He refers to street vendors as “wizards at making a virtue of necessity.” So, street
vendors, who reconstruct space for themselves on a daily basis in Basmane, create
experiential, instant, and temporary urban interiors that are integrated into the physical
space. All street vendor arrangements on the Anafartalar axis are temporary; they must
be disassembled, transported, and reassembled at the end of each day. Interior design
instructor Christine McCarthy observes that this is a transient state of affairs in
interiors “[...] temporal, because changes in its variables [...] can cause the dissolution
or the materialization of interiorities” (McCarthy, 2005, p.120). In Basmane, street
vendors internalize the space in the urban void by creating invisible borders and
“temporary” urban interiors.

Additionally, when interiority is used as moments that encourage crossing a border or

threshold, the practice of street vendors interiorizes Anafartalar Street on two separate
scales: one on a temporal scale and the other on a personal and intimate level. Vendors
respond to what is being given in space and time, creating opportunities for encounters
and pauses in the middle of the movement (Lim, 2008, p.133).

In Hatuniye Square, street vendors create a spatial boundary by using urban furniture
units as stalls. Thus, the social interaction on the street are transferred to the temporary
space. At the same time, Hatuniye Square becomes a meeting place for the local
community, producing an internal perspective.

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 Figure 4.20. Anafartalar Street shopping, Necessary activities Source: Photograph
by the author, 2022

In regards to the tunnel-type urban interior identified on Anafartalar Street, different

uses occur when the shops go beyond their inner limits and overflow onto the street.
In that respect, the strategic placement of shops and cafes create a sense of interiority
via the use of contrast and contradiction (Figure 4.20.). However, this sense of
interiority is temporal according to McCartyh (2005, p.120) due to the fact that
changes in the variables (boundary, intimacy, enclosure) along Anafartalar street can
cause interiorities to dissolve or materialize. Then, the interior feeling created by the
shops is a temporary state and a collection of constantly moving interactions between
the space and the user.

Additionally, according to the sorts of activities that the user does in the urban void,
spaceless spaces can provide a sense of belonging to that space, depending on the
amount of time and creativity. In Tunnel-type urban interiors, stalls overflow into the
streets for shopping on the Anafartalar axis, creating spontaneous spaces. By
generating the perception of the interior, the exterior transforms into a contradiction.
Spontaneous spaces that fill the streets can generate a paradox in urban voids due to
the potential to generate a creative, contrasting, and contradicting images within the
urban environment.

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 Figure 4.21. Coffee shop fronts, Optional Activities Source: Photograph by the
author, 2022

Optional activities are undertaken if there is a strong desire to do so and if the

circumstances of the time and location allow it to occur. Activities like taking a stroll
to get some fresh air, standing around and enjoying life, or sitting are all included in
this group of activities (Gehl, 1989, p.11). These activities can only occur when the
exterior conditions are suitable, such as when the weather and the location are
conducive. Since most of the leisure activities that are enjoyable to engage in outside
are explicitly located in this category of activities, this link is particularly essential in
the context of physical planning and physical development. Optional activities are
dependent on exterior physical conditions. Additionally, various extra activities can
develop due to the locations and scenarios inviting people to stop, relax, eat, and play.
In poor-quality streets and urban areas, just the minimal essentials of activity occur
(Gehl, 1989, p.11).

Firstly, single planes and C-shaped urban interiors, usually found in front of cafes and
coffee shops, are used by people as a sitting area in daily life as mentioned in the
previous section. Pots, plants, or sitting units strategically placed at the street's entrance

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similarly define an interior space that will create the permeable boundaries of the space
(Figure 4.21.). Although there is a continuous flow on Anafartalar Street, these single
planes have become an optional activities center as places to rest, stay and socialize
(Gehl, 1989, p.9).

Secondly, the niches and dead-end urban interiors on Anafartalar Street transform into
a hub of activity where people do their daily business, giving the impression of an
urban room. Benjamin (1999, p.421) refers to ‘Urban rooms’ as the circumstance in
which the street transforms into a private interior space. The places where Gehl’s
optional activities are mainly used for people to sit and rest in Basmane.

Moreover, there are many coffee houses in Basmane. These commercial buildings,
which have an important place in society in terms of socialization, host activities such
as resting, reading, conversing, playing games (Kutlu, 2017, p.68). In places, where
optional activities can take place, they are locations where individuals of all
backgrounds can come together, connect, and communicate, therefore eliminating
differences and alienation. For this reason, the importance of coffee houses and public
spaces such as Hatuniye Square and the bazaar in Basmane are supporting social
integration. (Kutlu, 2017, p. 68).

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 Figure 4.22. Hatuniye Square as urban living room, Optional activities, Resultant
(social) Activities, Necessary Activities Source: Photograph by the author, 2022

Every activity that is dependent on people’s presence in public places is categorized as

a Resultant (Social) activity (Gehl, 1989, p.12). Passive contacts, simply watching and
listening to other people, are the most common type of social activity. Greetings, talks,
and communal activities can also be considered in this group of activities. As
frequently seen in Hatuniye Square, these activities could also be called “resultant”
activities because they come from activities connected to the other two types of
activities. They emerge in conjunction with the other activities because users are in the
exact location, meet, pass by, or are just within view of one another. Social activities
reveal spontaneously as a direct result of users moving around and congregating in the
same places simultaneously. Thus, social activities are implicitly supported whenever
necessary, and optional activities are provided with better circumstances in an urban
area when conducted outside of the home (Gehl, 1989, p.12).

In that respect, Hatuniye Square, a corner form urban interior, has been a meeting point
for users before and after prayers (Figure 4.22.). In the square, where multiple
activities occur, it is observed that street vendors use the urban furniture as a counter.
At the same time, users with different cultures and backgrounds join together by

99
carrying chairs to the area. So, Hatuniye Square stands out as a spectacular “experience”
zone where the continuation of traditional commercial activity is maintained.

Additionally, Farelly and Mitchell (2015) suggest that the word “urban room” can refer
to various types of urban space, ranging from a square to a tiny courtyard in size. So,
Hatuniye Square can be utilized as an urban room because it is a place where space
functions, needs, and requirements can be met on a human scale.

Figure 4.23. Doorsteps, Resultant(social) Activities

Source: Photograph by the author, 2022

Moreover, social activities in Hatuniye Square and the inner parts of the district are
simpler, with most interactions being passive occurrences of seeing and hearing many
unfamiliar users. However, even this limited form of action may be highly intriguing
to certain users. A social activity occurs whenever two people are present in the exact
location. It is already a type of interaction, a form of social engagement, to be able to
see and hear one another and meet together (Gehl, 1989, p.28).

While there is a high level of social engagement in front of the stores on Anafartalar
Street and Hatuniye Square, this interaction extends to the doorsteps in front of the
residences located in the inner parts of the district (Figure 4.23.). It is observed that as
a threshold, the doorsteps create an intermediate space between the house and the street
and accommodate social activities such as sitting, resting, chatting, playing, and many
other activities. Users on doorsteps who know and welcome one another shape this
type of spontaneous interiority.

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 Figure 4.24. Hanging laundry, internalization of the street
Source: Photograph by the author, 2022

Hanging laundries along the streets in dead-ends and niches, defined as urban interior
spaces, is an example of domestic activities that intrude into public space (Figure 4.24.).
Because the number of residential areas in Basmane are limited, occupants frequently
hang their laundry on sticks or wires between buildings on public streets. When people
hang their underwear, shirts, and bedsheets from their windows, electric poles, and
wires, they create subtle differences in the physical form and perception of public
space. So, in the historical inner parts of Basmane, it is possible to notice the blurring
of the interior/exterior boundary.

Figure 4.25. Doorsteps and vacant lots as children’s playgrounds, Resultant (social)
Activities Source: Photograph by the author, 2022

Children’s play patterns in urban areas reveal that children tend to congregate and play
primarily in locations where there is much activity or a strong probability of something
happening (Gehl, 1989, p.25). Children tend to play more on the streets, in parking
lots, and at the doorsteps than in play spaces that have been specifically constructed

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for that purpose. According to the analysis, children in Basmane mostly utilize a
playground; they use abandoned urban voids, parking lots between buildings, and
doorsteps because these spaces are close to their homes (Figure 4.25.).

Observations and spatial practices in Basmane have shown the formation of an urban
pattern in everyday life where the boundaries between interior and exterior spaces are
permeable. The examined urban interiors have the potential to create new user-oriented
socio-spatial interfaces by activating the interior and exterior instantaneously. While
discussing the current situation and future of Basmane, it is necessary to evaluate its
worn-out physical environment and demographic structure, consisting of low-income
local and intense immigrant groups, by considering these potentials. In order to
develop project ideas, this study aims to create and protect the cultural diversity of the
user profile. Planned interventions can consider the habits of the locals, immigrants,
and refugees as exposed by the analyses in this thesis.

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 CHAPTER 5
CONCLUSION

This thesis investigated urban interiors as public spaces by questioning the interior-
exterior relationship and the notion of in-between space. Urban interiors are no longer
characterized by their physical characteristics, but rather by the users and their
relationships.

Literature review and example projects are used to explore the concept of urban
interior, its emergence, reasons, and characters. The examples, which are selected
following the literature review, are used to study urban interior characteristics and
formations. In this context, the concept of the urban interior is explored as a network
of systematic interactions that includes intermediary concepts such as private,
temporary, experiential, practical, socio-physical accessibility, and belonging. Within
these framework, the study argues that, urban interiors can improve the quality of
public spaces in Basmane’s everyday life. In Basmane, urban interiors offer
opportunities to encourage social interaction and a sense of belonging. They provide
quality urban public space. Routines, cultural habits, and background of users who
share the place strongly impact the construction of the space. Basmane is an area where
migration has caused a shift in daily routines and the use of urban spaces. Changes in
cultural and sociological conditions affect Basmane's physical, demographic and,
building stock. Therefore, Basmane is a suitable area to examine the concept of urban
interior, as it is a harmonious, multilingual and multicultural district. A new and multi-
layered place formation is emerging in Basmane and its surroundings, resulting from
the cohabitation of different people in structures dating back to various eras.

This study showed that urban voids as public interiors were taken advantage of by a
variety of people in the neighborhoods. For example, in a domestic setting children
play in the narrow streets close to their home while women sit on their doorsteps and
talk with their neighbors. In a commercial or public setting, defined spaces, such as

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alleys, niches, corers and dead-ends are used for activities such as shopping, playing,
watching and listening to people passing by and greetings. These practices arguably
feed the process of interiorization of a space by bringing the space into life with
everyday activities.

In this respect, the thesis showed that the urban voids around Anafartalar Street and its
immediate surroundings are a significant part of everyday life. These voids are
determined by a solid-void analysis, and then the spaces are examined through their
physical characteristics and spatial practices. Secondly, the identified urban spaces are
grouped according to their physical characteristics based on Frank Ching's (1996) and
White’s (1999) spatial voliume typologies with horizontal and vertical planes. Then,
by observing the everyday activities in the spaces and the processes of their occurrence,
this grouping is done by photographing and sketching in the area. The resulting
sketches are evaluated by categorizing public space activities in Jan Gehl's book Life
Between Buildings (1987). This approach enabled us to read the spaces between the
buildings as urban interior spaces. Depending on their location and scale, they are
simultaneously, spaces of interaction, hubs of socialization and places that produce a
sense of belonging. Therefore, they hold a great potential for improving the quality of
everyday life.

It is possible to argue that the reflection of social identity in urban interiors in

connection to the Basmane contributes to the survival of a society's social and cultural
values through preserving areas' values. Consequently, urban interiors are created in
public areas; the fact that it is situated in the city as permeable spaces is significant in
facilitating encounters. When the urban and the interior terms are combined, various
interiors become available, ranging from the built form to the compositions of
arrangements and relations. It is a critical focus on the relationship between users and
their environment as part of this transformation.

Basmane Hotels, Synagogues, and Anafartalar Street are included in the Izmir-History
Project initiated by Konak Municipality. Accordingly, projects and workshops have
been held in the Basmane area. Furthermore, Basmane’s development as a touristic
area is on the agenda of the local government due to its historical architecture and
central location. The study suggests that amid these discussions and future plans on
Basmane’s development, it is important to take into consideration the district's

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physical character and demographic structure that gives the area its uniqueness.
Considering socio-culturally rich and multi-layered composition of Basmane as a
merit rather than a disadvantage, the study suggests avoiding top-down interventions
that would disturb the character and demographic structure of the district. Rather, it
recommends developing suggestions that offer the opportunity to improve the physical,
social and economic conditions by listening to the users and places' needs. According
to this argument, the thesis suggests that spaces between buildings has a great potential
for social interaction and integration in the context of Basmane’s multicultural social
structure. By analyzing the spatial attributes of existing voids and considering their
spatial practices as urban interiors, the study highlights their value in everyday life.

In this respect, reading the area through the concept of the urban interior allows us to
question a possible development process and aims to understand and protect the values
in the area. Urban interior concept establishes a relationship with spaces, beyond their
physical characteristics, through the discourse of the internalization of the region by
the society in daily use. For further investigation, this thesis serves as a guide for
qualified activities and interventions to be made in order for users to socialize in the
public space for Basmane. Studies on the urban interior provide a fresh perspective on
the relationship between the discipline of interior architecture and urban design. So,
the thesis sets an example to explore the urban interior potentials of urban areas with
similar social and physical structures.

105
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