Mina Pabuccuoglu

Blackhouses and Timber Studies

“For the first 150 years of crofting land tenure, the crofters held their land on a year-to-year basis without any form of security. They were people without rights and were subject to eviction at short notice at the whim of inconsiderate landlords or their tyrannical factors...Crofters could not build substantial costly houses as they might be evicted at short notice...They had to be content with homes of simple construction built by their own hands from local materials. As a favour, they were sometimes allowed to carry their roof timbers away with them when evicted.” (Macleod, 23)

The crofters do leave behind the masonry structure that they resided in. These remain, creating a mark on the landscape of what was once theirs. The brick used in the structure acts as a reminder to the crofters and their blackhouses. With this, the proposal will become a homage to this practice by developing a modern interpretation of these buildings and their inheritance: spawning the new ‘post-industrial crofter’ practices.

The Garden as a Heterotopia

The walled garden in the centre of the community building becomes the 'long threshold', an element that blurs the boundaries between indoor and outdoor, conditioned and unconditioned, and public and private spaces.

It is an essential space as the garden is a separation point from the two ends of the flow mentioned previously. This space has various effects on the user; it is a moment for interaction, welcoming, allowing to pause, gather and direct. 

The concept aims to create a distinctive location in Edinburgh by using Istanbul gardens and Ottoman Miniatures as a form of architectural representation to express the intangible significance of these spaces. The garden, enclosed by high walls, serves as heterotopia (as said by Michel Foucault), allowing visitors to cross past literal and symbolic barriers. It is crucial to acknowledge the value of green spaces and recreate these, allowing the city to stop and catch its breath.

Additionally, the unexpected indoor garden is a unique resource for creative community action, cultural production and exchange. Planting the indoor garden becomes a collaboration project with the crofters and the community. It provides a space for trees and plants to grow and a space to support the collective culture of the community. 

Sticks and Bricks

Due to increased public knowledge of the environmental crisis, building materials are increasingly understood and regarded differently. The project seeks to reinstall this structure with the least alterations to the current envelope, as adaptive reuse is always the optimal solution from an environmental perspective.

Therefore local timber and reclaimed brick were chosen as the two main tectonic strategies for the main structure. Looking at the playful and varied interactions between the two contrasting materials, the brick breaks the grid at points, while at other points, they cross each other like a De Stijl chair. The brick almost acts as a supporting structure to the timber representing community support for a changing/adapting environment.

Thinking about disassembly is just as important as assembling. When choosing materials, I ensured my ideas could be efficiently repurposed if the structure's use changed. The simplicity of the construction allows for flexible usage of the grid when the building evolves in the future, and the minimal handling of wood enables component reuse. The simplicity of dismantling and flexibility comforts this idea of temporality. Furthermore, because the wood is local, it is easy to get to it if any components need to be replaced. On the other hand, the brick cores serve as stabilising components for the building’s continued usage as a community-based functional structure, preventing gentrification and continuously serving the community.