Importance of "place": using traditional and historical cities in architectural design education

Abstract

The importance of ‘place’ concept and different urban identities in architectural design is indisputable. As a subject of design, research and education; historical and traditional environments in different scales are also researchable and teachable subjects in architectural education. On this basis, tutors from two universities organized design workshops which were concerned with understanding the relationship between environment in different scales and the socio cultural factors of the settings. “Continuity, Change and Transformation” was the theme of the workshops and aims were to examine architectural form/space/culture and to debate spatial transformation of a historical and traditional environment in a design process. At this point, the study area of the workshop was chosen as the city of Edirne and Trilye Edirne is characteristic Ottoman cities which are the best instances of Ottoman architecture. Trilye is a traditional town that is living from the Ancient Greek era. Results of the workshops convey the value of understanding the concept place and reflecting such an understanding in architectural design education.