Comparison of the façades of Ottoman prison buildings from the Neo-Classical Period and the First National Architecture Period using the fractal analysis method

Abstract

The Westernization process of the Ottoman Empire, which started with the Tanzimat and Islahat Edicts in the 19th century, brought about the search for style in art and architecture. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Neo-Classical and First National Architectural movements came to the fore and influenced the architectural organization and façade designs of the buildings. One of the building types that reflected these stylistic preferences was the prisons, which emerged in the last periods of the Ottoman Empire and became widespread as a public building type. The aim of this study is to quantitatively identify the similarities and differences in the architectural influences observed in the façade compositions of prison buildings, constructed in recent periods and reflecting Neo-Classical and First National Architecture styles, and to present a comparative analysis within this framework. In this study, the fractal analysis method, based on the analysis of visual complexity in architecture, has been used to compare the similarities and differences in the façade characteristics of prison buildings shaped by the influence of both architectural styles. In this context, Bursa, Söke, Baba-i Atik (Babaeski) and Siroz (Serez) Prison structures, which largely carry the Neo-Classical style characteristics of the period, and Sultanahmet (Dated 1913), Adana and Çerkeş Prison structures, which bear and represent the traces of the First National Period, were selected. The facade designs have been compared using the fractal analysis method. As a result of the study, it has been demonstrated with numerical data that the prison buildings with Neo-Classical style differ from the prison buildings of the First National Architectural Period and have a simpler facade structure in terms of visual complexity.