18 November 2005 | Antalya

The 2005 event, which is today regarded as the first event in the International Ecological Architecture and Planning Symposium series, appeared in contemporary printed documents under the title “International Ecological Building Design and Materials Seminar.”

Organised by the Antalya Branch of the Chamber of Architects, the seminar was held on 18 November 2005 as part of the BAUCON-YAPEX Building Materials, Construction Technologies and Building Renovation Fair, which took place in Antalya from 17 to 20 November 2005. Archival documents indicate that the event was organised in cooperation with YAPEX and Antalya Metropolitan Municipality, with contributions from Akdeniz Tanıtım.

Since 2002, the Antalya Branch of the Chamber of Architects had organised symposia and seminars on various themes within the scope of the BAUCON-YAPEX building fairs. These included “Reuse of Old Buildings” in 2002, “Use of Contemporary Materials in Old Buildings” in 2003, and “Culture and Tourism” in 2004. The 2005 seminar, which focused on ecological building design and materials, formed the starting point of the series that would later continue as the International Ecological Architecture and Planning Symposia.

Aim and Scope of the Symposium

The seminar’s statement of purpose referred to the 1992 Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro and the Habitat II Conference held in Istanbul in 1996 as international developments that highlighted the importance of the relationship between human settlements and the natural environment.

Based on the recognition that a significant part of human life takes place within built spaces and settlements, the seminar emphasised the need to approach living environments in harmony with nature. Within this framework, ecological environment, eco-architecture and ecological planning were identified as increasingly important concepts, and the need to develop environmentally responsible approaches based on ecological principles throughout processes ranging from design and planning to implementation and material selection was underlined.

The seminar aimed to evaluate design, planning, implementation and material-related issues at both building and urban scales from an ecological perspective; to share emerging approaches and practices; and to create an environment for the exchange and discussion of knowledge concerning ecological building design and materials.

Another objective of the event was to enable scientists and architects from different countries to share their knowledge and experience, while contributing to the development of technical and cultural relations between cities through the discussion of practices and examples from different geographical contexts.

Symposium Themes

The subjects addressed within the seminar were defined under four main headings:

• Ecological Environment and Urban Planning
• Ecological Building Design
• Practices and Examples from Different Countries
• Ecological Building Materials

Within this framework, the seminar addressed ecological building materials, energy-efficient design and solar energy applications, ecological design awareness in architectural education, the relationship between climate and architectural form, urban ecology and planning, the environmental relationship of traditional buildings, and architectural advisory mechanisms within urban development processes.

Symposium Programme

The programme on 18 November 2005 began with registration, followed by the opening speeches. The two-session programme was chaired by Assoc. Prof. Dr Nevzat İlhan.

Session I

Bayazıt Büyükyıldırım - Adobe

The presentation examined adobe from ecological, technical, cultural, health-related and economic perspectives. Through building examples from different geographical contexts, the characteristics of this traditional material in relation to sustainability and building culture were discussed.

Tolga Uzun - Photovoltaic Applications in Energy-Efficient Buildings

Although the programme listed Tolga Uzun as the presenter, the published paper identified Tolga Uzun and Mustafa Yeğin as co-authors. The study addressed the potential applications of photovoltaic technologies at building scale and their relationship with energy-efficient design.

Beril Özmen Mayer - Ecological Design Awareness and Its Reflection in Architectural Education

The presentation discussed the place of ecological design awareness within architectural education and the integration of environmental sensitivity into design education.

The first session concluded with contributions, questions and answers.

Session II

Jürgen Bisch - Climate! or “Form Follows Function”

Janna Mitsou - Urban Ecology and Urban Planning: Notes on the European Union and the Greek Experience

Luna Rajab - The Compatibility of the Traditional Damascus House with Its Environment

Brigitte Jupitz - Nuremberg Architectural Advisory Council: An Example of an Advisory Body Continuously Accompanying Urban Development and Design

Following the second session, time was allocated for contributions, questions and answers, followed by a coffee break. The programme concluded with a session entitled “General Discussion and Final Declaration.”

International Participation

The foreword to the seminar publication states that participants from Germany, Syria, Greece and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus presented papers as part of the seminar.

The foreword also notes that the hall remained full until the end of the seminar and that participants showed strong interest in the question-and-answer sessions, concluding that the event had achieved its intended objectives.

Scientific Committee

Jürgen Bisch — Germany, Chief Advisor for Architecture, City of Nuremberg / Freelance Engineer-Architect

Prof. Denes Patonai — Hungary, Architect

Assoc. Prof. Dr Nevzat İlhan — Architect

Asst. Prof. Dr M. Rafet Kıstır — Architect

Asst. Prof. Dr Şefika Gülin Beyhan Tosun — Architect

M. Osman Aydın — Architect

Organising Committee

Nilgül Yılmaz — Architect

Fatih Onkar — Akdeniz Tanıtım / BAUCON-YAPEX

Vedat Aksak — Head of the Foreign Relations Department, Antalya Metropolitan Municipality

Gülden Soyak — Architect

Hüseyin Yaşar — Architect

Mustafa Yalım — Architect

Serdar Aykurt — Architect

Aslı Kalfa Otyakmaz — Architect

Şahin Akçer — Architect

Publication and Archive

The papers presented during the seminar were subsequently compiled into a publication by the Antalya Branch of the Chamber of Architects. Entitled “International Ecological Building Design and Materials Seminar,” the publication was issued in 2006 as part of the Antalya Branch of the Chamber of Architects Publications series, No. 11/1.

The publication lists the ISBN as 5944-89-063-4. It brings together the seminar programme, photographs from the event, the papers presented, and examples of buildings and applications supporting the subjects discussed in the papers.

The publication also includes a clipping of the article “Kerpiç’ten Bir Efsane...”, written by Oktay Ekinci and published in the “ÇED Köşesi” column of the Cumhuriyet newspaper on 7 December 2005.