The Evolving Design of 20th-Century Apartments in Ankara

This study analyzes a longitudinal series of Ankara apartment houses using space syntax methodology to uncover the underlying genotype and its transformation over time. The results indicate that transition-space-centred organization is the underlying spatial structure for 20th-century Ankara apartments. Diachronic examination of the sample in terms of sectoral differentiation—that is, clustering of spaces based on functional and social requirements, and in relation to the exterior— has identified three groups: (a) the houses from the 1920s with no sector differentiation and one entrance; (b) the houses from the 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s with different sectors and multiple entrances; (c) the houses from the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s with different sectors and one entrance. Viewing these results in relation to an analysis of the history of domestic culture demonstrates that there exists a schism between the historical periods representing social changes and the spatial periods representing the transformation of the Ankara house genotype.