Spatial Formation in Traditional Erzurum Houses: An Assessment of Environmental and Cultural Factors

Traditional dwellings reflect how communities adapt to environmental conditions and cultural practices. In Anatolia, diverse climatic and social contexts have produced distinctive housing typologies. Traditional Erzurum houses exemplify this relationship, shaped by high altitude, harsh continental climate, seismic risk, privacy, family structure, and neighbourly relations. This study examines the environmental and cultural factors influencing their spatial organisation and evaluates their position within Turkish residential architecture. The findings indicate that spatial formation results from the interaction of climatic constraints and historically developed patterns of domestic life. The central role of the tandırevi, the inner courtyard, adjacent building arrangements, the kırlangıç tavan roofing system, and the controlled relationship between dwelling and street demonstrate this interaction. Although Erzurum houses retain fundamental characteristics of the Turkish House, they exhibit distinctive spatial solutions responding to local geographical and cultural conditions. They therefore represent an example of vernacular architecture in which environmental adaptation, social practices, and spatial organisation are interconnected, revealing the regional diversity of Anatolian domestic architecture.