Traditional Window Designs of Kirklareli, Turkey

In this chapter, the concept of “window” was defined from various perspectives and the rhythmic position of windows within architecture, window-light relationship and styles in architectural history were interpreted. The characteristics of windows used in Turkish houses were explained in detail, with reference to examples of traditional windows from Turkey and around the world in the 19th and 20th centuries. In addition, the history, geographical location, social and economic structure throughout history, migration and population expectation, urbanization, historical districts of Kirklareli province and the characteristics of traditional houses were also analyzed.

General characteristics of traditional late 19th century and early 20th century window styles in historical districts of Kırklareli, sash-sash relationships, and the stylistic and functional characteristics of the windows were explained. At the end of the chapter, windows are classified according to the following structural, stylistic and complementary elements: a) Location of the profile frame in the wall section/or wall-profile relationship, b) Profile frame-profile sash relationship/or frame-sash relationship, c) Relationship between the profile sashes or sash/sash relationship, d) Opening direction of the profile/or according to sash movements, e) Number of movable sashes of the profile, f) Window order, g) Movable sashes of the profile, h) Fixed sashes of the profile, i) Ratio of window width to window length, j) Presence of shutter, railing, jamb and molding elements; presence of dripstone in the frame or sashes; and type of lock and sill. A total of 103 windows included in the eBook were briefly defined according to this classification.

This chapter presents 103 examples of late 19th century and early 20th century windows in 89 traditional houses in Kirklareli, Turkey. The windows are presented, using drawings and photographs of varying scales, according to their different characteristics, related to the storey on which they were located. These drawings include images from inner and outer sides, plan and vertical sections, and details from different points of the windows. In addition to visual explanations, each window was analyzed in terms of a) the house in which they were placed, b) structural characteristics, c) complementary elements, and d) stylistic characteristics. At the end of this chapter, new design suggestions are proposed, involving the detailing the stylistic characteristics of structural window profiles. In addition, it was concluded that the study can served as a beneficial resource for urban conservation and planning activities.