Sanat Tarihi Dergisi

Öz

In this study, the historical Alaçam Burhaniye Primary School, which serves as a museum under the name of Alaçam Population Exchange Museum, has been introduced and evaluated in detail within the framework of Art History discipline. On-site examination of the previously unreported building was undertaken, and architectural projects prepared within the scope of restoration were used. There have been discovered a number of archival records that provide information on the building’s construction date and history. The school, which is the only educational building that dates back to the Turkish era before the Republican era, is located in the district’s center in the historical settlement. The Ottoman Archive papers state that the structure without an inscription, which was thought to have been constructed in 1894 with the assistance of the townspeople, lost some of its original appearance as a result of different functional adjustments over time. In 2012, after a comprehensive and successful restoration that considers the building’s original function, it was transformed into a museum. The classical Ottoman schools were abandoned as a result of the policy reforms of the Westernization era, and the structure is an educational structure formed by this new perspective. The structure, which has a classroom on the upper level and a shop on the lower floor, is an example of the schools from the Westernization period that occasionally have shops on the lower floor. The masonry building with blend bricks consisting of the ground and first floors is covered by a hipped roof covered with Marseille tiles. The building’s front facade displays spectacular carved stone craftsmanship. Burhaniye Primary School sits on a slightly trapezoidal rectangular area measuring 10.40 x 13.80 m. The building’s ground level had two stores, two entry halls, a stairway, a tiny office, a bathroom, and a warehouse. The classroom is on the first floor, and it is made up of a single block that extends to the main walls, surrounds the middle staircase, the adjacent hall, and has a balcony extending out of the facade. Added to the rear of the building as two floors during the restoration; The masonry additions consisting of storage, toilet and sink units were removed. During the restoration, some essential elements on both floors were removed, the plan was converted to its original state, and various deteriorated and aging elements were renewed based on their original appearance. In contrast to the entrance facade with rich stone ornamental elements and balcony protrusions, the other facades are plain and quite plain. The symmetrically regular two-story entrance (north) facade exhibits notable characteristics with its fine cut stone work cornice and floor moldings, wall jambs, pedestals, wall-foot, door, and window surrounds. The interiors lack an original room equipment. Although Burhaniye Primary School, which was constructed in the Western pattern, is anticipated to contain furniture items like blackboards, desks, seats, and tables found in these sorts of schools, the potential interior equipment has vanished as a result of functional changes over time. The building’s interior is devoid of any decorative components, and the wrought iron and stone carvings that make up the decoration are all gathered on the front facade. Since it was constructed in 1894, the Alaçam Burhaniye Primary School exhibits the architectural style that dominated this era. The facade and also other architectural components of the building were formed by the Western New Classic, which was popular in the 19th century. The panels on the cast iron (wrought iron) door wings on the entry facade and the front sections of the shutters represent the district’s distinctive combination of the crescent and the cross. The cross and crescents are arranged symmetrically in the composition, which reflects to the religious identities of the Greek and Muslim residents who coexisted in the neighborhood before to the exchange. Alaçam İbtidaî Mektebi is similar to the public buildings of its period in terms of the shop fronts on the lower floor, but the single-space classroom with a hipped roof on the upper floor is a structure that resembles the residences of its period with its facade layout, except for the north facade on the ground floor. There are shops on the ground floor, a Western New classical facade, and the decoration elements are dominant, which are characteristics frequently found in the schools of the period the building was built, compared to the interpretation seen in classical schools, it was built in the middle of the neighborhood near the residential area, it was built with the help of the people instead of a single patron. Samsun İbtidaî Mektebi which was constructed in 1901, is a structure that is quite similar to this one, with identical decoration and facade components