FROM THE PAST TO THE PRESENT

ERIMTAN MUSEUM

The Erimtan Museum is situated along the Ankara Castle wall, facing the historic Hisar Square where the Castle Gate opens, and its entrance is from this side. Surrounding the building are structures dating from the Ottoman period, such as the Mahmut Pasha Bedesten and Mahmut Pasha (Kurşunlu) Han, the historic clock tower, Çukur Han, and Çengel Han, which has been converted into the Koç Museum.

The Erimtan Museum building was "recreated" on the site of three Ankara Houses (Savaş, 2015)*. During the architectural design process, information from the past, such as the lines on which the buildings sit, roof breaks, the stone texture and joint filling techniques used, the details of cut stone and keystone in arched door and window openings, the depths of the sills, and the proportions of the threshold stones, were considered as "historical traces" (Savaş, 2015)*.

The museum building's design was approached in accordance with holistic design principles, and every detail of the building was carefully considered. In line with the idea of blending old and new, the museum windows are angled towards the historical clock tower; the museum's entrance is designed as a copper relief inscription, referencing Roman wall inscriptions; and the stone walls trace the path of the city walls surrounding Ankara Castle.

In conclusion, we prepared three separate photo series to tell the story of the building's journey. We aimed to convey the traces of the roof, the windows, and the overall design details of the structure in these photo series. The harmony created by the window openings on the interior and exterior of the building is explored in the first series; the details that combined the old and the new during the building's architectural design phase are presented in the second series; and the breaks in the roof structure of the new building, which carries over the roof traces of three pre-existing Ankara houses, are addressed in the third series. By bringing these series together, we aimed to show the whole formed by the changing function and design decisions of the building throughout its historical journey.

 

* Savaş, A. (2015) Tracing the Footsteps of History: The Design Process of Erimtan Archaeology and Art Museum, Arredamento Mimarlık, June 2015/291, 63-77.

Ayça YILDIRMAZ

Zeynep DINKTEPE