MİMARLIK AGENDA

The Great Alliance of State and the Capital: Is the State written off the depts? / Asuman Türkün

The author reminds that the law called “Construction Peace” is defined as “writing off each other's debts between the state and the profession”, and it is not clear who are the actors of these processes and why these agreements have missed out the problematic issues such as the destruction this country created in the urban and rural environment.  Türkün states, once again, the common sense of justice and equality is shaken all of us.

COMMEMORATION

The Beginning of Byzantine Studies in Turkey: Semavi Eyice/ Asnu Bilban Yalçın

Turkish Byzantinist and art historian Semavi Eyice passed away on 28 May 2018. After studying Byzantine history in universities in Vienna and Berlin, Eyice graduated from Istanbul University. As the faculty member and the head of the Istanbul University Faculty of Art History, he had played an important role defining the Byzantine art in Turkey and its comparison with Ottoman art. Eyice saved many historical buildings from destruction and documented the ones that were destroyed during his service for the Conservation of Cultural Property. Asnu Bilban Yalçın has written his obituary.

AGENDA

Ethical Values in the Fight Against Climate Change / Rüksan Tuna

June 5 was marked by the United Nations as “World Environment Day” at the Environment Conference held in 1972. This year just before the Environmental Day, the news that “the construction of the green road project linking the Black Sea plateaus is resumed” has once again showed us that nature is not one of the priorities in our country. If fact, the situation is not better when we consider the priorities of other countries. The author summarizing what has happened recently questions the urgency of the issue, and comments upon the close ties between the environmental policies and the economy.

AGENDA

Regarding the “Nation Gardens” / Murat Balamir

One of the election promises made before the June 24th elections was “the nation gardens”. The plans about the closing of the Istanbul Ataturk Airport following the opening of the 3rd airport and therefore making the site of the existing airport available for new proposals have prepared the perfect ground for the realization of this project. The author questions whether these promises can be fulfilled or not.

EVENT

30 Timeless Chairs: 1950s / 1960s / 1970s

“30 Timeless Chairs: 1950s / 1960s / 1970s” is the title of a scientific research funded by Yaşar University, and the project examines chairs produced between 1950 and 1980, known as “mid-century modern furniture” in world literature. Summarizing the results, the article shows that the chairs are still useful and aesthetic and that they can still be used with simple renovations.

COMPETITIONS

Lüleburgaz Municipality Tosbağa Stream Recreation Area Architectural Ideas Competition

To develop ideas for the design of the relations between Lüleburgaz Tosbağa Stream recreational area and the city proper, the Lüleburgaz Municipality organized an architectural competition that has been recently finalized. The aim was to gather projects proposing strong connections with the rest of the city; contributing to the urban identity and to the quality of the city life; including landscape arrangements; and prioritizing human-nature relationship by offering open spaces and green areas. In the free, national and single stage competition, 59 projects were evaluated and 5 equivalent awards were awarded.

Kepez Municipality Weaving Field Architectural Ideas Competition

The competition for the transformation of the Weaving Factory area, which was closed down by the Kepez Municipality in 2003, has been recently finalized. The municipality aimed to achieve ideas regarding urban and architectural solutions and landscape design proposals to integrate the Weaving Factory within its historical heritage; to re-link this area with the city; and to propose ideas for integrated and sustainable ways to maintain this relationship between the competition area and the city. It is anticipated that the area will bring value to the city life in Antalya.  In the competition, 39 projects were evaluated and 5 equivalent awards were awarded.

URBAN PLANNING

The Missing Link between the Planning and Urban Transformation Processes in Turkey: Semi-Public Spaces / Serkan Sınmaz

The hierarchical open-space sequence that extends from the courtyard houses to the city square has been replaced with a new system where public and private spaces were sharply differentiated from each other. The lack of hybrid spaces in between these two extremes -that can be characterized as semi-private and semi-public- has increased the demand for private spaces. The author claims that with new regulations to be made in the urban planning system, the existing urban renovation / transformation processes can produce more qualified results and exemplifies his arguments in the context of a hypothetical case.

The Auditory Dimension of Urban Planning: Eskişehir / Konca Şaher, Duygu Karaca, Esin Türkel

One of the possible parameters that can be disregard while planning the city is the sound and noise layer. The article analyzes a particular situation in a selected region in Eskişehir and illustrates how this sensory input should be handled during the design process.

URBAN IDENTITY

An Ordinary, Extraordinary, Specific Representation: Cinque Terre / Serap Durmuş Öztürk, Sibel Maçka Kalfa

The Cinque Terre region of Italy is made up of five villages that are very similar yet differentiated from each other by authentic details. The authors closely examine these specific circumstances of the area listed within the UNESCO World Heritage List.

URBAN DESIGN

The Art or the Science of Urban Landscape? The Trend of Performance Research in America / Taner R. Özdil

Among the parameters shaping the theory of landscape architecture, technical and aesthetic issues have a direct impact on the quality of urban spaces. The author questioning the balance between these two entities argues that performance research applied to landscape projects may have a positive effect on filling the gap between the profession and academia.

REPUBLICAN ARCHITECTURE

A Typological Study from Paul Bonatz: Kayseri All-boys Art School / Hikmet Eldek Güner, Faruk Tuncer

In the early Republican era, in which a new ideology was envisaged, the spatial organizations of the vocational high schools were as important as the curriculum of the education.  Drawing attention to the modern design approach, material use, technical details and preservation status of the All-boys Art School built in Kayseri, the authors emphasize the importance of regionalist qualities in the building and try to raise awareness for its preservation.

URBAN HISTORY

Capital Ankara / 2: The Contemporary Capital's Original Cultural Identity Reflected on Space and the Challenges / S. Güven Bilsel

The second part of the series started in the previous volume, May-June 2018, focuses on the changing identity of Ankara.

CONTACT

Absent Matter: Boundaries of Tresoldi Works / Süreyya Topaloğlu

Edoardo Tresoldi, an Italian artist born in 1987, produces works that “get in the way” / “stay in between”. He has recently constructed a project called “Etherea” for the Coachella Festival in California. Tresoldi has been producing sculptures using wire since 2013, and has been used as a tool to create drawings in the landscape.