Artificial intelligence (AI), which has a strong potential to assist architects in conceptual and visualization stages, has been increasingly used in the field of design and architecture. This study, focusing on the AI tools that generate images from texts and offer innovative solutions to design problems, aims to evaluate the use of AI for the reinterpretation of traditional Iznik tile patterns and colors in the context of architectural design and modern interiors. The methodology consists of four stages, which are the selection of AI tools (Copilot, DALL-E 2, DALL-E 3, Midjourney), the preparation of textual prompts for testing “çini” (tile) expression, testing of the AI tools’ perception of the concepts related to Iznik tile motifs, and the creation of prompt series. The findings of our study provide evidence that current AI tools exhibit distinct features in terms of variety, conceptualization, artistic visualization, and image production, while they are hardly equipped with the necessary conceptual background to communicate with the designers for the interpretation of the traditional Iznik tiles in contemporary architectural design. Specifically, Midjourney, which could produce historically referenced contemporary designs in response to textual expressions, was more successful than other AI tools. DALL-E 2 could not visualize the expressions concerning the placement of the Iznik tile surfaces in interior spaces but was quite inspiring in terms of the images regarding the tile pattern and color. DALL-E 3 and Copilot tools produced similar images in terms of color palette and patterns, whereas DALL-E 3 was better at visualizing spatial data. Our results reveal that AI tools still need to be developed for analyzing traditional patterns, styles, and forms for contemporary design purposes. On the other hand, AI tools can develop innovative approaches, optimize the tile production procedure, and have the potential to accelerate the design process for designers by generating new and diverse ideas.

City walls have played a significant role in the history of many cities in both Europe and Anatolia in the Middle Ages. Following the development of war technology, the city walls lost their importance as defensive structures, which led to changes in the urban patterns of walled cities. In the case of Istanbul, the city walls began to lose their defensive role after the Ottoman takeover of the city in the fifteenth century. However, the walls have continued to play new roles beyond defense, such as forming the city's physical, legal, and fiscal boundaries. The Ottoman authorities repaired and conserved the city walls in line with their changing roles, values and meaning for the city. Nevertheless, the city walls in Istanbul were damaged by earthquakes, city fires and particularly urban planning practices in the nineteenth century, as was the case in many walled cities. This paper discusses the intertwined history of preservation and demolition of the city walls by analyzing a cost estimate, dated 1894 and located in the Ottoman State Archives, which was prepared by the modernizing administration of the Ottoman State for the repairs of the Istanbul Land Walls.

This paper addresses issues concerning the Istanbul Land Walls Component Area, part of the World Heritage Site of the Historic Areas of Istanbul. The discussion focuses on the conservation status of the historic vegetable gardens (bostanlar in Turkish) in the area adjacent to the monument. The central concern is with the problematical situation, where the agricultural space and culture of the gardens are being denied heritage status, and are presently in the process of being destroyed. The immediate threat to the gardens comes from the forces of urban renewal projects that have been unleashed in Istanbul over the last two decades. It has been extremely difficult for various heritage experts and organizations to effectively challenge the commercial and political imperatives of urban regeneration. First, there is the issue of confronting an institutional and legal edifice with a singular commitment to urban renewal, characterized by an insensitivity to the complexities of urban sites. Furthermore, the core issue resides at the conceptual level, pertaining to the tension between an architectural and monumentalist approach to conservation, on the one hand, and an approach sensitive to cultural landscape, on the other. The fate of the bostanlar will depend upon some form of negotiation and reasonable accommodation between these two contrary perspectives.

Bu çalışmada, bir miras alanına toplum ve çeşitli topluluklar tarafından atfedilen değerlerin keşfedilmesi için uygulanabilecek katılımcı yöntemler tartışılmıştır. İstanbul Kara Surları ve çevresinde gerçekleştirilen ve TÜBİTAK Katip Çelebi - Newton İkili İşbirliği Programı tarafından 2016-2019 yılları arasında 116K830 numarası ile desteklenen “Miras Alanlarını Çoklu Perspektiften Yorumlamak: İstanbul Kara Surları” başlıklı projede uygulanmış olan yöntemleri ve bu yöntemlerin birbiriyle ilişkisini tartışan bu çalışma, katılımcı yöntemle miras değerlerinin belirlenmesi konusundaki literatür ve deneyimlere katkıda bulunmayı amaçlamaktadır. Bu çalışmada, yürüyüş etnografisi geliştirilen tüm yöntemlerin temelini oluşturmuş, bu yöntemin yanı sıra kültürel sorgulamalar, birlikte üretim ve foto-ses çalıştayı toplulukların bir kültürel miras alanına atfettikleri değerleri keşfetmek için kullanılmıştır.