From lived house to personality house museum: A spatial and ınstitutional comparison of Türkiye and the United Kingdom

This article examines personality house museums in Türkiye as spatial and institutional constructs formed through the transformation of lived domestic interiors into curated environments of representation. Positioned at the intersection of architectural history, conservation, and museum studies, the study approaches the house museum as a distinct typology in which space itself functions as a primary medium of narrative production. Focusing on Türkiye while using the United Kingdom as a reference context, it investigates how biographical narratives are shaped through spatial organization, exhibition language, and operational structures. The article employs the DEMHIST classification, particularly the category of the personality house, to establish a comparative analytical framework. Within this framework, Barış Manço House Museum and İsmet İnönü House Museum are examined as two different modes of biographical representation. The Charles Dickens Museum in London is added as a British reference case, offering institutional and archival depth that grounds the UK comparison in concrete terms. The comparison clarifies how governance models, accreditation systems, and funding structures shape conservation, visitor management, and curatorial interpretation. The study argues that house museums should be understood as reconstructed interiors in which authenticity, memory, and representation are produced through selective spatial and curatorial decisions. In doing so, it contributes to the Turkish literature by strengthening the architectural and spatial dimension of house museum analysis and by making visible the institutional conditions that shape their formation and sustainability.

Keywords: House museums, personality houses, spatial representation, Türkiye, United Kingdom.