Block and plot

In Turkish land registry and zoning, ada and parsel, block and plot, are the two numbers that identify a piece of land. The ada is an area bounded by roads or other boundaries on the zoning plan or cadastral map. The parsel is a surveyed unit inside that block, registered under its own title. A Turkish title deed lists the province, district and neighbourhood together with the block and plot numbers.

Cadastral plots and zoning plots

Plots created by the cadastral survey do not always match the layout the zoning plan intends. The plan may draw roads and public facilities regardless of those boundaries. In such areas, parcellation reshapes the cadastral plots into zoning plots that conform to the plan. As a rule, a building permit can only be obtained on land that has become a zoning plot.

Where you meet them in a project

Block and plot numbers appear again and again: on the zoning certificate, in the title block of permit drawings, on the site plan and in building inspection paperwork. Plot boundaries, with their corner coordinates, are taken from survey maps and also anchor the position of the architectural model. In an exterior render, getting the building’s relationship with neighbouring plots right starts with placing those boundaries correctly in the model. Get them wrong, and both the drawings and the images show a layout that does not exist on site.