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Original scientific article

VILLAGE ROOMS AS LIVING HERITAGE ARCHITECTURAL SPACE SOCIAL MEMORY AND INTANGIBLE PRACTICES IN RURAL TÜRKIYE

By
Melike Gürman Orcid logo ,
Melike Gürman

1Master’s Program in Art and Design, Afyon Kocatepe University , Afyonkarahisar , Turkey

Şerife Ebru Okuyucu Orcid logo
Şerife Ebru Okuyucu
Contact Şerife Ebru Okuyucu

Professor, Interior Design and Environmental Design, Afyon Kocatepe University , Afyonkarahisar , Turkey

Abstract

Village rooms (KÖY ODALARI) in the village of SUSUZOSMANIYE/AFYONKARAHISAR are a significant feature of the rural heritage of Anatolia, combining architectural features and sociocultural values like hospitality, solidarity, collective memory, and local governance. Though the village rooms have been analyzed from an architectural and typological point of view, the analysis of the rooms as a hybrid heritage space (both tangible and intangible) has been relatively little discussed so far. The concept of living heritage is used to interpret various aspects of village rooms, their spatial organization, architectural continuity, and sociocultural functions in a larger context of heritage. The study area consists of two village rooms in SUSUZOSMANIYE Village, AFYONKARAHISAR, Türkiye (Ahmet Sadık Taşpınar and Emin Çavuş Village Rooms), which are currently in use. The research approach involves architectural documentation, measured drawings, spatial analysis, field observation, and the oral history interviews of local users and owners. The results showed that the village room is a space that has multiple functions as a place for welcoming guests to the village, as well as a space for multi-functional village governance, social interaction, cultural transmission, and collective decision-making. Although both buildings have undergone physical change and the rural life has changed, both buildings remain in use and retain their social and cultural importance. The study suggests that the village rooms are living heritage spaces that are closely linked to both tangible architecture and intangible social activities, which can be integrated into community-based approaches to rural heritage conservation and can be used in contemporary discussions on sustainable rural heritage conservation.

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Citation

This is an open access article distributed under the  Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (CC BY-NC) License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. 

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