Traditional materials and construction techniques in the rural settlement Baspinar, Turkey

Abstract

Baspinar Village of Kemaliye Town, which features a unique vernacular architecture on an altitude of 1400 m in Erzincan province on the east of the country, is one of the rural settlements that has not been subject to documentation work and architectural conservation studies up to now, due to hard transport conditions in the region. The buildings in Baspinar, which date back to the 18th century are situated in harmony with the topography. In this study, the construction techniques seen in the traditional fabric made up approximately 300 masonry houses of three to four floors, and the sourcing of the materials used have been documented through onsite observations, survey drawings, photos and interviews with the local masters. This study aims to examine in detail the construction techniques of Baspinar houses, which experience conservations problems. It is hoped that this documentation will be useful for the preservation of other settlements featuring similar characteristics on the Euphrates (Firat) River Basin.