Outdoors of home environment

We need open spaces around our homes

The proportion and function of outdoors around homes is determined by our life styles.

People living with agriculture and animal husbandry need more open space

People living with industrial work or services also need open spaces but they are packed in tight settlements in cities.

Yayla, every where is animal garzing land

Detached home within agricultural land.

Row houses were first form of dense neighborhoods in industrialized cities...

Row houses have a minimum outdoor space at the front and at the back of the dwelling unit.

It is “breathing area” for the neighborhood, air can flow through buildings.

It is also a functional and recreational area for people.

Proportion of outdoor areas determine the population density for the neighborhoods.

Size of building site / Size of built space this is the ratio which have impact on determining the urban character.

In Turkish it is KAKS and TAKS !

Because there is high demand for housing in our cities,

Housing developers' commetial interest is to get maximum KAKS and TAKS,

Planning autorities try to control density by applying limits to KAKS and TAKS numbers.

However it doesn't guarantee the quality of outdoor spaces.

KAKS is the ratio of

built area/lot area

Here it is 1:1

Here both

KAKS and TAKS are

1: 0,5

KAKS is 1:1 but

TAKS is 1: 0,5

What is the ratio here ?

Now, in this case some things are wrong!...

It is difficult to plan interiors

Building cast large shadows to streets or neighboors

Air flow is effected.

With such limitations planners control QUANTITIES of outdoors.

These issues will be further discussed in city planning curses, our purpose is to discuss QUALITIES of outdoors.

In planning outdoors,

Public or private ownership

Activities it accomodate

Directions, size and topography

Hard and soft elements...., are important

Outdoors in domestic context are

Privately owned in detached or row houses.

Collectively owned in housing estates

Design of outdoors in such estates are usually for better marketability.

If we have to plan outdoors for needs of a particular family, which activities we may include ?

Child play

Outdoor living, dining and sometimes sleeping

House work (laundry drying, carpet washing,...)

Hobby gardening, pleasure gardening

Car parking

Recreational and sportive activities.

The size of site dictate us the the choice of activities

We may have breakfast are and dinner area seperately, inaccordance with sun/shade/summer/winter/changing view,...., situations.

For pleasure garden we may have lawn, terraced flower beds,rock gardens,cascaded water or still water,...,

Child play changes with age,....,

Movement of Sun changes but in constant cyles

At a spot on northern hemisphere

Shade cast by same vertical object moves during day, we can use it.

Dominant winds for İstanbul

POYRAZ

LODOS

Climatic conditions are also effected by winds

POYRAZ freezes us in winter but prefered in summer. It brings fresh cool air.

LODOS is disturbing when very strong, but pleasant as a breeze. Always charged with positive electricity , therefore disturbing to us.

Each region have its own favorable and disturbing winds.

No land is perfectly flat

Ground always have countours formed by natural forces, smooth or steep.

People think it is easy to build on flat areas, therefore dig out grounds.

But it is risky to disturb natural countours of land because it may cause land slides (toprak kayması)

Flow of underground water may be disturbed (yer altı suyunun akışı)

Some of the most beautiful settlements are on sloping sites

Slopes give us spatial varriety, changing views and directions, therefore different outdoor zones are created.

A building should not fight against sloped topography

It should make use of it.

Multiple levels enriches outdoors

Even on a flat site people try to create this diversity.

Instead of large cut and fills, it is easy to create levels on ground with small changes

Or more built-up levels

All additions we do in out doors are landscaping

Hard landscaping is built up

Soft landscaping consist of plants and water

Plants are for ground covering

Space defining, border making

Colouring

Landmarking

Since 1960 ies population flow from small towns to large cities

Dense settlemets in large cities

High rised living

Made us almost to forget outdoor living....

Only a hundred years ago we had a higher culture of garden life.

ABALI TB.I,3 30

A konak in old Çankırı

ABALI TB.I,3 31

• This is not home of a ruling elite family of İstanbul but home of the judge (kadı efendi) of remote town.

• As can be seen, the owners of the Konak enjoyed a lot of outdoor living and rich spatial experience (zengin mekansal deneyim).

• How did lives of people changed and why were konaks abondened ?

• How are the dream home images in modern Turkish people`s minds ?

ABALI TB.I,3 34

A konak in old Çankırı