İzmir, Selçuk Kohen Permaculture Design Project
We realised our project on approximately 28 acres of land in Selçuk, Izmir, owned by the Kohen family.
Our main goal in the project is to create a sustainable living space that has diversity, balance and resistance as in natural ecosystems and is as self-sufficient as possible in agricultural terms, based on permaculture design roadmap and principles.
What the family wants from us;
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Design of approximately 28 acres of land according to Permaculture principles
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A modular house inspired by the architecture of the region, but with a flat green roof
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Food forest, food gardens
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Effective rainwater harvesting
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Seasonal agroecological food production for the family
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Hot water and electricity production with solar energy
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While preserving the natural vegetation in the landscape, enriching it with locally appropriate plant species
Exploration, Observation, Information Collection:
- İzmir Selçuk is 20 KM from Kuşadası, an important tourism centre of our country, and 50 KM from Aydın.
- The project area is 5 KM to Selçuk and 3,4 KM to Şirince Village.
- There are not many settlements within 3-4 KM distance of the project area.
Şirince village is an important tourism centre.
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Most of the tradesmen in the village have come from outside and the old stone house structures have been converted into boutique hotels.
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The touristic village became famous with the Mayan apocalypse scenarios of 2012 and still maintains its popularity today.
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Most of the local crops on the stalls of the villagers are not their own production.
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The village, which is especially famous for its Şirince Wine, outsources its wines.
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Most of the local people have sold or rented their existing places to outsiders due to financial concerns.
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Olive harvesting is carried out in a large part of the project area.
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Recently, the support of Selçuk Municipality to farmers has been increasing. By giving importance to certified fruit production under the name of "good agriculture", the project covering 18 producers in Gökçealan is being successfully continued.
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Thanks to the festivals organised in Selçuk, all the agricultural products produced are evaluated here and a good added value is provided.
Site Investigation and Analyses:
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In the first stage, information about the region where the land is located was collected.
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28 acres of land was observed on site and exploration was made. Soil structure was analysed, samples were taken and necessary laboratory tests were performed.
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Information on the vegetation of the land and its surroundings and local plant species was collected.
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With the use of drone flight and technological infrastructure, a 3D model of the land was obtained and analyses were made through programs.
Most of the land is covered with maquis, many parts of which are too dense to enter. Red pine, olive and wild olive trees were observed.
(For more detailed information about the technological infrastructure and approach we use when designing healthy living spaces, see the HHW Roadmap.
Selçuk, Şirince District
İ.HA Images
Arazi Keşif
3D Model of the Project Area:
A 3D digital model of the land was obtained on our computer software using approximately 170 photographs collected as a result of UAV flights.
This model is a record of the data of the land surface at that date and enabled us to make various examinations and measurements such as distance and surface area without having to go back to the project area we designed.
After pines and olives were identified on the 3D model obtained from the drone flight, 40 red pine and 177 olive trees were positioned within the borders of the land.
After pines and olives were identified on the 3D model obtained from the drone flight, 40 red pine and 177 olive trees were positioned within the borders of the land.
Soil Analysis
Soil samples collected from various regions of the field from depths between 0-30 cm were collected in a single bag and sent for analysis.
IHA Photos:
A UAV flight was carried out over the area to create a 3D model of the land. During this flight, approximately 200 photographs were taken from different angles of the terrain and a video of the flight was recorded. Examples of photographs obtained from UAV are as follows.
Kohen izmir arazi
Land Topography:
District Layout:
First, the house where the family would live was placed in the most suitable location on the land. This is zone zero. Then, other zones were determined according to work frequency.
Buildings:
In order to guide the preliminary project work, the preliminary concept design of the house and guest houses where the family will live was carried out by our architects. It was seen how much area/volume it would take when placed on the land and how it could be settled.
Planting:
Pine and olive trees in the field were first placed in the model. Tree positions and heights on the 3D digital landscape obtained as a result of drone shooting were measured and placed in the correct positions.
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Locations of Existing Trees
Appearance of the Land after Planting
Rainwater Harvesting
Ponds can be built in and around the hollow area where rainwater collects on the land, as follows. Building roof water can also be directed to these ponds. The water stored in ponds during periods of abundant rainfall can also be transferred to closed underground tanks at higher elevations and used to irrigate plants in the field during dry periods in summer.
3D Design Model
With the completion of the design of the project, a 3D animation model of the area we were working on was made in another software.
In this way, the final version of the project design was presented to the Serdaroğlu family and approval was received for the project report.
Cohen Proje Tasarımı
General Project Report
A 100-page detailed report describing all stages of the design project from the beginning to the end was created and the project was delivered to them with the approval of the Kohen family.
