Traditional timber-laced masonry construction in Turkey known as himiş

Abstract

Abstract Even as many dwellings of traditional masonry construction are being replaced in Turkey and its neighboring countries with new buildings, most of which are of reinforced concrete, it appears that the prospects of life safety and even survival of their occupants during strong earthquakes have not necessarily improved. The astounding human losses in the western region of Turkey in the 1999 earthquakes bear testimony to this truth. In Turkey, the timber-framed masonry form known as himis, together with related forms of timber-frame-with-masonry-infill construction in countries around the Mediterranean basin, was developed in centuries past by itinerant builders as fulfillment both of social and economic needs. Additionally, after recent earthquakes, it has been found to be aligned with a search for seismic safety, as well as construction durability in the context of a compelling regional architectural expression. Its ongoing replacement in Turkey with reinforced concrete moment frame buildings, which frequently are of unsophisticated construction and are so lacking in engineering oversight that, contrary to their occupants’ expectations, puts them at a huge and expanding risk as well. Attempts at improving the quality of these poorly engineered and constructed buildings have been slow to emerge, and have been found wanting in several respects. An examination of traditional himis and hatil construction is worthwhile in this contemporary context and may provide some important lessons not only for cultural heritage conservation, but also for the introduction of creative approaches to hazard mitigation in contemporary buildings as well. Himis is defined as timber frame construction with a single layer (also known as a “leaf” or “wythe”) of masonry infill that is known in Britain as “half-timber,” in Germany as Fachwerk, and in France as colombage. It is often used for the upper stories of houses, the ground floors of which are of bearing-wall masonry construction reinforced with timber ring beams, each of which is known as a hatil, the plural of which is hatillar. This chapter mainly focuses on himis, but hatillar, also under different names, such as bhatar in Pakistan, are also common through Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and parts of Asia, and have similarly proven to provide resilience to what otherwise would be unreinforced masonry. The tradition of using the timber frame himis system for the upper story or stories of a house, resting on a single lower story of hatil construction is very appropriate. It has worked well because the framed system is lighter and held together by the framing, while the hatil-reinforced masonry wall below requires the overburden weight provided by the upper stories of himis above to gain its most effective resistance to earthquake vibrations. It is important to note that in traditional forms of hatil construction, there are no vertical timbers embedded in the walls apart from the door and window frames.