The Rural Houses of Akçakese – Istanbul

ABSTRACT Akçakese village is one of the most valuable and conserved villages of Şile, which is a district on the north of European side of İstanbul. Traditional Akçekese houses were built of natural materials and are of great cultural importance.The architecture of the village is an authentic example of an economic, flexible, nature-dependent architecture that emerges from the function and the needs of human being. Thehistorical, architectural, environmental features of the traditional houses and how they developed through time with special characteristics and their relations with the settlement is evaluated. The construction system, spatial characteristics and the building materials are explained. Within the scope of this study, timber-framed structure filled-in with wattle and daub is analyzed through traditional rural houses of Akçakese and aimed to contribute to documenting the original features of these buildings. The assessment is based on literature review, field observations, interviews, visual materials that focus on the architectural characteristics of houses.It is considered that these data would provide guidance for the building designs in rural areas of today.It is important to retain awareness about the importance of preservation of this traditional houses and its environment. The village has a favorable cultural, environmental and architectural potential for rural tourism that is importantin terms of heritage conservation.