International Conference on Architectural Research

”Ion Mincu” University of Architecture and Urbanism

ARCA  – Travelling Architectures

NOMAD TURKEY: building heritage maps on influences and connexions

section: Beyond discipline(s): architectural education and research

autori: Ana Maria Crisan, Alexandru M. Crisan

Abstract

This paper presents in a non-exhaustive manner the topics of  “travelling architectures” – practical workshops, developed in between 2006-2012, as a part of a  “Practical experience” program for 1st grade students. The nontraditional approach aims at an alternative architectural education, based on personal experimentation of scale and space. ARCA – the generic name – refers to a collection of individual examples of architecture, which form our current visual culture. Initially started as a travelling expedition, the practical experiences nowadays a more complex architecture experience, including specialized guides. This paper presents the first academic ARCA-TA guide, published in March 2012, comprising thematic maps and itinerary walks.

The first edition is centered on the Turkish areal and the Balkans, the thematic itinerary comprising the antiquity in Asia Minor, the Byzantine brickwork, mimetic in rock-cut architecture, vernacular architecture, etc.

Under the topic of practical experiences, it is discussed the areal of central Anatolia, as an areal of experimenting architecture, in divers forms, corresponding to a multicultural population. ARCA focuses on binomial models, associating contemporary and old examples, in a practical lesson of evolution and adaptation. Global history and compared architecture are the key points in the experimental approach of “walking lessons”.