DANİŞMENT HOUSE

SARD STUDIO

Danişment House is situated within a mandarin orchard in Danişment Village, Yüreğir district, approximately 25 km from the city center of Adana. Designed as a weekend retreat, the house serves both as a place for the client’s weekend stays and as a recreational spot during daily visits to the orchard.

Considering the region’s climatic conditions, the project began with the idea of constructing a stone house to maximize the climatic benefits of stone walls. Sard Studio prioritized natural materials and applied them using traditional construction techniques to ensure harmony with the local context. The single-story structure features steel-framed masonry walls and a timber roof, embodying a sustainable design and engineering approach. Built with locally sourced stones, bricks salvaged from old buildings, steel, and wood, the building’s primary load-bearing system consists of laminated wooden roof beams and panels supported by steel columns and beams.

The house layout was carefully planned to preserve front and back yards, in addition to an existing vineyard within the land boundaries designated for construction. Spatial organization evolved alongside decisions regarding materials and structural systems. To address the summer heat, a second living area was designed at the back of the house along the northeast façade. The backyard setback was arranged to allow the potential addition of a guest house in the future, creating a small courtyard behind the main structure.

For structural works, they collaborated with ATTEC Design (Ahmet Topbaş and his team). They decided to construct the walls following traditional masonry techniques, utilizing the craftsmanship of local stone masons, while integrating a bearing system of steel and wood to support all roof loads (including wind and seismic forces). This hybrid system is reinforced by the stone walls.

Throughout the architectural design process, they maintained close collaboration with the structural team. During key meetings on structural decisions, they engaged in detailed discussions on combining steel and wood, developing sketches that formed the basis of unique type details—the most distinctive feature of the building—which were successfully implemented on-site without issues.

Our material selection focused on durable, locally sourced elements with potential for long-term use and compatibility with future structures. To create the wall texture, they used flat handmade bricks salvaged from old Adana houses, enriching the building’s connection to its locale through their unique character.

They began by researching the nearest quarries, local stone masons, and their skills. Since traditional masonry had not been practiced recently in the region, they invited İmran Akmil, an experienced stonemason from the Aegean region, for a brief consultancy. They adapted his techniques to suit our region, available facilities, and materials. Thanks to the expertise of local stone master Yılmaz Çiçek, they developed a distinctive texture and completed the stonework.

Early in the design, the architect and engineer collaborated closely on structural systems and materials, engaging in dynamic discussions about advancing local craftsmanship, fabrication skills, and sourcing timber from outside the region. These efforts aimed to create a sustainable model with economic efficiency and constructability at various scales.

While optimizing stone craftsmanship and material sourcing, they thoroughly explored structural solutions that combine heavy stone walls with complementary materials. Structures were classified as primary and secondary, with an emphasis on minimizing on-site work and maximizing off-site fabrication. The final system employs steel frames supporting glulam timber tie-beams or trusses, which in turn carry flat-laid glulam roof diaphragm beams. Without steel bracing, wood purlins, false ceilings, underside cladding, or roof decking, the flat-laid glulams are tongue-and-grooved to each other and screwed together, serving all these functions. The 100mm-thick glulam roof forms a strong diaphragm and a base for waterproofing, insulation, and shingles. The solid structure is visible from below, providing warmth and a distinctive interior aesthetic.

Stone walls rest on a 40cm-thick mat foundation and are laterally stabilized at roof level by steel beams that also function as façade tie beams or spandrels. Steel columns are embedded within the wall plane, doubling as façade support posts. The rigidity of the stone walls provides additional stability to the steel columns and helps integrate the stonework as boundary elements of the bonding system. Steel, stone, and wood act in concert as primary and secondary load-bearing structures while defining the architectural character of the building.