The Amcazade Yalısı in İstanbul

On account of their spatial innovations and their ground plan typologies Ottoman wooden houses are a very important and common scientific topic. Nevertheless, the construction peculiarities of these buildings have been much neglected. One reason is probably the inaccessibility of their supporting structure, if the houses are in maintained condition. But the main reason is the repeatedly mentioned simplicity of the construction of the framework, as far as it was examined until now. However, these examinations have been very infrequent, and their results have seemed to confirm the prejudice against Ottoman wooden houses. But new investigations at the Amcazade Yals in Istanbul have provided the opportunity to check previous theories in the case of a very prominent example. To some extent the prejudices are confirmed, as the woodworking joints are quite simple, mostly secured with huge iron nails. But the quality of carpentry in the way the members of framework were prepared is surprising. And a closer look at the construction peculiarities reveals a distinguished and individual system probably influenced by naval architecture.