for a moment
Istanbul Technical University I Architectural Design VII, academic + individual work ‘18 I ‘19 spring
Activators of the Urban Void | Istanbul, Taksim, Istiklal Street | Assoc. Prof. Ozan Önder Özener
The studio focuses on “activators” for redefining public spaces within the city. The urban voids are transforming with speculative design strategies that are reflected in the program, spatial experience, and architectonics. Such design potentials and probabilities are exploring for architectural reconfigurability and functional flexibility. Istanbul is a city that, contains several layers of social and cultural history. In every layer of it, we can discover something new and something significant. Taksim square and Istiklal street are one of the key spaces which are carrying the cultural side of the modern Republic of Turkey. Therefore, there are huge interventions that have been making, especially there, by today’s government. Their intention is, probably, removing the traces of “cultural and political” history from there, by destroying the ethos of Taksim, and its architecture pieces as well as the landscape elements. First, they wanted to destruct the Gezi Park which is planned after the demolition of the Artillery Barracks (Topçu Kışlası) by Henri Prost in the late ‘30s. Besides, their agenda was reconstructing the Artillery Barracks again, for creating an environment for a ghost of the Ottoman Empire.
There was a huge protest is held nation-wide, in order to protect Gezi Park, even people died for the trees' right to life. Then, they dismantled AKM (Atatürk Cultural Center), which was also one of the representatives of modern Turkey. During Gezi Protests the building was occupied and its facade was used for hanging the protest posters. It was a memory-shifting moment because Taksim Square is a symbolic place for “1 May Workers Day” celebrations. However, it has been forbidden for any kind of celebration, protest, and basically “coming together” in Taksim. They have not stopped yet, they want to build a mosque at Taksim Square which is again, for removing the secular
demography from the district. “For a Moment” tries to protect the “actual culture and ethos” of the Taksim, and Istiklal street. It is a naked steel structure, with movable floors and experience ramps, and provides spatial reconfigurability for any kinds of activities. The structure is pulled back from the street-line, in order to open a “for a moment” square. It occupies the void and leaks to the rooftops nearby. It is a void that, holds the cultural cumulation of the modern Atatürk’s Turkey, and the freedom of individuals as well.
demography from the district. “For a Moment” tries to protect the “actual culture and ethos” of the Taksim, and Istiklal street. It is a naked steel structure, with movable floors and experience ramps, and provides spatial reconfigurability for any kinds of activities. The structure is pulled back from the street-line, in order to open a “for a moment” square. It occupies the void and leaks to the rooftops nearby. It is a void that, holds the cultural cumulation of the modern Atatürk’s Turkey, and the freedom of individuals as well.
