This research explores the evolution of beach sheds as a vernacular architectural form/relation near Antalya, tracing their transformation from unofficial recreation solutions to contested spaces during the process of gentrification and environmental politics. Emerging as a response to the modern urban need for leisure, the structures mediated relations between local communities and the coastal environment. The dynamic and volatile character of the beach sheds, -an adaptive and transitive typology-, underscores them as “wild cards” that reflect broader conflicts over the shifting socio-political context, from serving touristification to resistance against coastal gentrification.
The research problematizes the anti-heritagization and reinforcing touristic gentrification through nature conservation processes that have caused their decline in time, positioning the debate over the structures within the displacement paradigm of disadvantaged communities and various species. In looking at the materiality, spatiality, and public image of the beach shed during various periods, this research situates this custom as in constant negotiation with the use(r) and the environment. Ultimately, the continuous debate of the tradition suggests that their architectural and historical value surpasses nostalgia or denigration and offers new possibilities for interpreting and advocating for a “just and equitable share” of this shoreline.