ABSTRACT
The negotiation between the natural and built environment in urban design is one of the more vital aspects facing the practice today. The process of assessing this relationship is facilitated by state-of-the-art simulation tools which enable designers to study the ambient qualities of space and associated multivariate effects such as static rays, fluid flows and thermal gradients. These toolsets pave the way toward alternative strategies in urban naturalization, ones that consider the natural and the constructed as part of a shared ecology in lieu of being diametrically opposed. This paper examines the nature of this exchange in high-density urban situations where adequate access to daylight, fresh air, and view sheds are limited due to over-development. The focus of this research resides in Turkey where historical examples dating back three millennia serve as strong examples for cities today where high-density development has undermined the quality of life for metropolitan inhabitants. This paper reviews outcomes from a cross-disciplinary student workshop, funded by the James Marsden Fitch Foundation, carried out over a nine week period in western Turkey. With the use of computer simulation programs, ancient housing typologies including Ephesus, Priene and Pergama are analytically unpacked and played back in the form of design exercises set in Istanbul. During the research period, simulation tools enable the team to disclose design strategies from ancient settlements and test the reintegration of those strategies within new models of collective development.
