Transient yet settled: the rooms for tuberculosis patients in Turkish sanatoria

Abstract

This paper investigates the spatial dimensions of the dichotomy between the pedagogical and clinical purposes of sanatoria, based on the examples of patient rooms in twentieth-century Turkish sanatoria. The intangible layers of sanatoria are explored with a focus on the tuberculosis patients as the primary actors, tackling the literary work on Modern Movement sanatoria architecture as well as established literature on emotions, senses, and experiences in architecture, with primary sources on Turkish sanatoria (1920s-1970s). The concepts of permanence and transience in sanatoria are assessed through the experience of the users.The research findings unveiled, the rooms were designed as ready to be refreshed via hygiene practices anytime, while ensuring that the bodies of the patients stayed transient within their material environment. However, the design-related nuances between the physical transience of the medical body and the spiritual longevity for belonging (to a familiar place) reveals that despite their sterile appearances and clinical atmospheres, sanatoria were emotionally charged spaces that conveyed a sense of belonging for the patients.Historians thoroughly analyzed the Modern Movement's ideas of hygiene in everyday spaces and the twentieth-century sanatoria via analyses of global cases. What is relatively new is sanatoria spaces and venues incorporate many intangible layers, and healthcare spaces offer a rich history of emotions, atmospheres, and senses in architecture. The distinctive contribution of this paper is two-fold: it reveals that atmospheres, emotions, and senses alter the perception of the transient venues of architecture of convalescence and it advances research on Turkish sanatoria by offering a comprehensive medico-social analysis that highlights distinctive local cultural nuances.