Small yet refined. A search for individual uniqueness.

These two sentences essentially summarize the starting point of the MOSS project. Following two major disruptions the earthquake and the Covid pandemic the question, “What kind of buildings should we live in?” became increasingly visible. Architecture, directly and indirectly affected by these events, also began to seek new approaches.

The building approach commonly described and promoted as “horizontal architecture” emerged as one of the outcomes of this search. Considered to offer greater safety in terms of earthquakes, this typology is, in fact, a continuation of an architectural tradition that has long existed in Turkish architecture, particularly across the Mediterranean region.

Open-air floor halls and apartment entrances shaped by climatic conditions also respond to the growing need for open and semi-open spaces that became especially significant during the pandemic. Similar spatial solutions can be found both in the traditional Turkish house and in examples of modern Turkish architecture, particularly those dating from before the 1980s.

In the traditional Turkish house, the space known as the “hayat” is one of the clearest examples of this approach. Although technically located outside the enclosed interior of the house, its diverse uses make it an integral part of everyday life and, therefore, of the home itself.