Spirit of the City
Sprit of the Hill
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The memory that forms the spirit of the soul and identity of the place consist of various layers. These layers made out of the billions years of nature history, thousands years of human history, tangible and intangible cultural heritage and their ways of relationship with space and social life. Big part of what we have and what we do today is a continuation of these layers.
Hill Of The Alaeddin’s future is actually remains its today and the past. It’s central location between historic and new city, being the meeting point of various social groups, creating the most peaceful rituels when the most chaotic environment of city’s middle age, encounters enabled by the field of interaction stretching from Central Asia to the Mediterranean in history, abruptly rising topography and many contrasts/thresholds in a flat city makes this area hard to work, we’ll be able to shape the future if we can understand all of this aspects.
Today, the archaeological feature of the cultural layers of Alaeddin Hill, which consists of a few unique buildings and archaeological sites in a large green park, has the potential to be a visible part of the soul of the place. Ahead of this, there is a cumulative heritage, physically missing documents, photographs and memories of people’s minds. In order to reveal these, creating urban archaeological landscape areas by descending to the original levels of the buildings, reviving the vanished traces by functionalizing them or reminding them with other means were among the main principles of our design approach.
According to the research conducted on all layers of the hill, the traces of the hill are visualized, including the present, in six time periods:
Seljuk Period (1116-1248):
On Alaeddin Hill, during the Seljuk Period (1116-1248), the inner castle walls and bastions, Alaeddin Mosque, Eflatun Masjid, Lala Ruzbe Madrasa and residences within the inner castle walls were located. The walls were surrounded by a moat.
Late Ottoman Period ( 1850-1918):
During this period, the inner castle walls and bastions, including the 2nd Kılıçarslan Mansion, were largely destroyed. Mosque, mansion ruins, Eflatun Masjid and church structures on the southern slope of the hill can be seen. In 1872, the clock tower was added to the Eflatun Masjid. On the southern slope of the hill, there were Greek and Armenian Churches and residences on the slopes of the hill. In 1902, the Greek School was built on the south of the hill, next to it is the Practice Stage. In 1904, Ferit Pasha Water Tank, which has survived to the present day, was built. The Electricity Factory was built in 1917. Greek School and French School were built on the southeast skirts of the hill. St. Paul Church was built in the garden of the French School.
Beginning of the 20th Century (1918-1931):
Between 1923-23, forrestation work was carried out on the west of the hill. The trench was filled during this period. In 1919, the Platon Madrasa was demolished. The Greek School was converted into a Community Center in 1932, and the Practice Stage began to be used as the Municipal Cinema after 1923. In 1955 the building burned down. The building, which was built as a military library on the old church site, was used as an army house. The road surrounding the hill was also opened during this period and the citadel lost its integrity.
Early Period (1931-1982):
The Independence Martyrs Monument, also known as the Aircraft Martyrs Monument, was opened in 1936. In 1941, sounding excavations were carried out at three different points in the region. It was concluded that the area was definitely a mound; The existence of remains dating back to the Phrygian, Byzantine and Seljuk periods were determined.
In 1954 the Torrance Municipal Casino opened. The building was renovated in 1970 and started to serve as Alaeddin Keykubad Wedding Hall. The first army house building was demolished in 1960 and a new army house was built in its place. A concrete umbrella was built in 1961 to protect the ruins of the 2nd Kılıçarslan Mansion.
Present
Alaeddin Mosque, Martyrs' Monument and landscaping, Torrance Building, Kılıçarslan Mansion and the remains of the city walls and palaces unearthed in recent excavations have survived from all these layers. The completion/cover of the Kılıçarslan Mansion has been widely discussed in the public and does not function to protect the ruins.
The majority of Konya residents and visitors do not know that this is an inner castle, the historical center of the city, and the deep historical memory it contains is not visible. The future of the hill must be established with the memory of all historical layers and today, with the contributions of those who live here.
Future
The majority of Konya residents and visitors do not know that this is an inner castle, the historical center of the city, and the deep historical memory it contains is not visible. The future of the hill must be established with the memory of all historical layers and today, with the contributions of those who live here.
Commemoration, Reminder, Animation Tools
Building Traces on the Ground:
The inner castle walls, the front wall and the traces of the structures that can be located were identified with a white stripe on the ground.
Soaring Building Silhouettes
In order to remind the silhouette effect of historical layers, translucent silhouettes were created with white vertical bars in places where there is information and opportunity.
Building Traces on the Landscape:
Especially in the multi-layered region on the south-southeast slope, the building traces were defined by the corner forms emerging from the land, taking advantage of the slope. The method applied in Layer-park can also be used in the traces of lost city walls and bastions, and the traces of historical buildings to be discovered in the future. Informations about the building were written on the discovered wall.
Complementary Elements
In the areas where the archaeological remains are found, white colored completion walls were built in order to keep the elevation differences created by the excavations, to support the stability of the remains and to make the integrity of the missing pieces perceived.
Preservation Roof
Top covers were designed to protect the remains of the city walls and bastions unearthed in recent excavations from external factors, to allow them to navigate the area comfortably and to perceive the memory. The covers were designed as modules that center the bushes, whose dimensions can be changed, and which can expand where needed.
While the silhouette effect was revived with white bars along the bastion and wall line, which form the center of the top cover design, on the other hand, it was aimed to create an impressive light on the ruins, in the middle of the shadow to be created by the eaves, by leaving the top of these lines transparent.
Alaeddin Hill Archaeological Park
With the design made in the excavation areas, it was aimed to protect Kılıçarslan Mansion, Palace Ruins and Wall Ruins from climatic conditions, to be able to visit comfortably and to participate in city life.
Kılıçarslan Mansion could not be fully preserved with the old concrete eaves and the current cover/completion. This monument, which is one of the most important works in the history of Konya and the sultan's mansion of one of the most important capitals of the middle ages, must now be completely protected. For this, the pavilion was enclosed in a glass protection structure.
Except for Kılıçarslan Mansion, all archaeological sites were included in the hill landscape and city life with an always accessible arrangement. A controlled route was created for Kılıçarslan Mansion, which can be accessed from the visitor center at the entrance of the Archaeological Park.
Mansion Enclosure
In order to preserve the surviving parts of Alaeddin Mansion, one of the most important remains of the city and its medieval close geography, from further deterioration, we need to put it in a safe. It is obvious that the protection covers made so far have not been able to protect the building. For this purpose, we designed an enclosure that we can call a giant museum showcase.
Although the existing stone base of the mansion creates a perception as if it is a historical feature, it was actually created by covering the reinforced concrete foundations from the concrete umbrella period. This is why the mansion is asymmetrical with its geometry. It is necessary to remove the part of this base, which seems to be historical, so that it will not damage the mansion, to make a well-founded support for the outside, and to make it clear that this support is a contemporary.
Basically, two types of hard floors were proposed. Soil solution, which is one of the most sustainable options and reminds the old landscape of the hill, was used in the area. Natural stone was used in heavily used squares such as the pedestrian line around the hill, the roads connecting to the city, and the mosque square.

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