Post-Disaster Community Spaces

The "Afet Sonrası Topluluk Merkezleri" (Post-Disaster Community Spaces) project, designed by the Herkes İçin Mimarlık Association, is located in Kahramanmaraş.

The first project of the Herkes İçin Mimarlık (Architecture for All) Association, which worked to address the needs of communities after the February 6 Earthquakes, was “Post-Disaster Community Spaces”. During the expedition held in Kahramanmaraş on 20-22 February 2023, the Kaf Kolektif team, which voluntarily carried out post-disaster support and recovery activities in the tent area established in and around the garden of Sümer Secondary School in Dulkadiroğlu District, was met and it was decided to build the first space here.

At the beginning of the design work of the project, which was realized with the support of the Support Foundation for Civil Society and Turkey Mozaik Foundation, an open call workshop was held at Design Workshop Kadıköy on 4-5 March. In the workshop, which received 410 applications, selected 45 people worked at six separate tables. The materials that were thought to be covered by the amount of funds received and the size of the area that the association members and participants could build within the duration of the fund were decisive in the design. Although the input of this workshop, which was determined as 6 m3 of wood and 25 plywood for approximately 100 m2, including open and closed spaces, was not strictly adhered to, these quantities, especially the area size, turned into research data on how the space can be used in different ways. In addition to thinking about the production and living habits in the region, the needs of children and women, especially in the newly formed situation, guided the design ideas. In addition to the work on the community center structure, ideas from different scales such as kitchen, toilet, play unit, animal shelter and vegetable bed were compiled and designed. Shading details have become an important issue, especially for the upcoming summer season. After the design workshop, a forum was held in Salt Galata on March 7, with the participation of 150 people, and ideas from the workshop were shared and comments were received.

The ideas coming out of this workshop continued to be studied in the following days. Realizing that the details could not be clarified without being in the field, we went to the field on March 22 and stayed uninterruptedly with the changing teams until May 8. In the area where the community space could be located, there were olive trees planted by school students two months before the earthquake. The most suitable place among these trees was determined for the project, and the details of the design, which turned into a 60 m2 structure, were quickly completed. The final version of the center, formed by 5 wooden frames, included a 25 m2 closed event area, a 6 m2 closed storage area, a 6 m2 covered semi-open area and 23 m2 open areas. Critical Craft team, whose founders are also members of the Herkes İçin Mimarlık Association, undertook the detailing of the design.

All Hands and Hearts team, who met in the field before starting the construction work, volunteered to carry out the construction together. Thus, the implementation of the Sümer Community Space was carried out together by the members and volunteers of the Herkes İçin Mimarlık Association, the Kaf Kolektif team, the employees and volunteers of All Hands and Hearts, and the people of Sümer neighborhood. In addition to the organizations funding the project, individual donors and All Hands and Hearts provided financial support. During the work, we stayed in the camping area of Kaf Kolektif and in the Mimkent area of Kahramanmaraş Chamber of Architects.

Apart from the limited materials purchased from Kayseri, all materials and tools required for construction were procured from Kahramanmaraş. Although they were not always the ones considered, equivalent ones were found. Despite the efforts of those looking at the disaster area from a distance to outsource everything with good intentions at first, it has been experienced that working with local materials and local labor whenever possible fosters their intention to do it together and has a more positive contribution to the recovery of disaster victims.

Sümer Community Space could not be used as intended because the tents in the area were removed and Kaf Kolektif ended its activities because of this removal at the end of the summer for this reason. The space, which was freely used by children throughout the summer, hosted a weaving workshop by Critical Craft in August. The space, which the school administration decided to remove due to the opinion that it created a security problem, was removed in November. Due to the lack of communication because of the reluctance of the school, members of the Herkes İçin Mimarlık Association only then learned about the situation during their visit in December. The story of its removal were traced and learned that the craftsmen of Dulkadiroğlu Municipality, who came to dismantle it, noticed the special design and application of the building, and it was disassembled and moved in three pieces. The moved structure is reassembled at the Dulkadiroğlu Municipality’s construction site next to a container city and continues to be used as a construction site office. Although it was disappointing that it was not used for its original purpose, it was a consoling news that it came to life again, thanks to aware craftsmen and its design being suitable for disassembly.

Negotiations were held with Türkoğlu Municipality for All Hands and Hearts, who shared their will desire to build another community space with its own financial and labor resources with the Herkes İçin Mimarlık Association, and it was decided to build the second space in the container city in Kılılı neighborhood. By adding another frame to the initial design, the small indoor area of the growing building increased to 12 m2 and provided a second event space. Additionally, the windows and door designs in the initial design were changed at the request of the All Hands and Hearts team. Changes were made to the materials on the floor, walls and roof in accordance with the budget, supply and application possibilities. The building, embraced by the principal of the neighboring school, who has also been the administrator of the container city since the first day it was opened, is actively used with the regular programs of the school and Public Education. The relations that started between Herkes İçin Mimarlık Association and All Hands and Hearts during this process continued until their separation in Turkey at the end of September, and the two organizations took part in eachother’s other works in the earthquake region and showed solidarity in the processes.