Refunctioning of Historical Buildings: The Transformation of Aya Ishotya Church in Isparta to the Rose Museum

Abstract

Cultural heritage is the legacy of physical artifacts that are valuable for all people and inherited from past generations to the present. Within this context, the historical buildings are the documents and symbols which reflect the economic, social, and cultural accumulations and urban and architectural style of the period in which they were constructed. The most preferred way of preserving historical buildings is to give a new function to the structure. Changing the function of the building is considered as a contemporary understanding of preservation. Refunctioning of a historical building means saving it from destruction, renovation, maintenance, continuous use of it, contribution to the city’s skyline, revitalization of history consciousness, and contribution to the economic recovery. Aya Ishotya (Yorgi) Church located in the city center in Isparta is a cultural heritage which lost its unique function and community with population exchange so it must be refunctioned. It is suggested that the structure should function as a museum. The church should serve as a Rose Museum where the rose, a cultural heritage for Isparta just like the church itself, and its related objects are exhibited. When Aya Ishotya (Yorgi) Church refunctions as one of the Rose Museums scarcely found in the world, the church will be rescued from destruction and make contributions to city’s economy and tourism.

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