three

As an introductory exercise, we were asked to present three of our favourite projects that have informed and represent our world view on architecture. The following are projects that I have encountered during the course of my studies.

one catalhöyük

Catal meaning "Fork" and Hoyuk meaning "Mound". The settlement is dated approximately 7500 BCE to 5700 BCE and its estimated population peaked at approximately 10, 000. As the city population fluctuated dwellings were attached and demolished in an agglutinative manner. Each dwelling a separate household from its neighbour. In terms of fortification and government, there appears to have been no city wall or either central place of worship or government building. Notably there are no streets but the main trafficable space are the flat rooftops of the dwellings.

This project, for me, resonates a purely communal, and needs-by basis of survival, it is also possible to suggest it is quite functional. The manner in which interaction between households, often surrounding an open court reinforces the sense of community and intimacy. The archaeological and stratification studies are also an interesting indicator of the progression of the settlement. The formation of the mound itself a testament to the prior generations upon which it is built on, literally. It is a settlement highly charged with memory, family members were buried within their own homes underneath platforms, the hearth and beds and once the eldest member of that family dies, the dwelling is abandoned and the family starts anew.