MIMARLIK AGENDA

The Creative Mind Revived By Crisis / Akın Atauz

For a long while now our agenda has been no different from the agenda of the country and the world at large: it’s been the crisis, whether economic, political, ecological, diplomatic, professional, or humanitarian… The author invites us to understand this atmosphere of absolute crisis, presenting several arguments regarding creative struggles.

AGENDA

• The Olive Questions: The Sincerity of Conservation Legislation and Our Olive Groves / Nezih Başgelen

Uygarlığın her döneminde, yetiştiği her coğrafyada el üstünde tutulan zeytin, yeni düzenlemeler nedeniyle ülkemizde yine tehdit altında. Konunun yasal yönlerini ortaya seren yazar “sürekli yenilenen bu ölümsüz maden yataklarını” savunuyor.

EVENT

• “Upcycling” and Sinopale 8 / Emre Zeytinoğlu

International Sinop Biennial, which has been held since 2006, took place for the eighth time. Previous themes were “thing”, “the new order of things”, “hidden memories, lost traces”, “wisdom of shadow”, “clusters and crystals: observing at point zero”, “transposition”, “here and where”; and this year, it is “upcycling”. The author tackles this concept, the new biennial and the biennial tradition that the city of Sinop has now.

• Turkey's Modern Heritage Agenda 2021: Lost, Endangered and Preserved Buildings / İlke Alatlı, Aygün Aşık

Organized for the second time this year by KORDER and DOCOMOMO_Turkey Working Group, “Turkey's Modern Heritage Agenda” took place on February 11th, 2022. This article presents a summary of the event which concerned lost, endangered and preserved examples of modern architecture throughout 2021. The video of the event can be watched on the docomomo_tr YouTube channel.

• Delayed EXPO 2020 Dubai: What’s Next? / Serkan Günay

The universal exhibition and world’s fair, EXPO, the first of which was held in London's Crystal Palace in 1851, was planned to be held in Dubai in 2020. Being the first world fair to ever take place in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) region, it is finally held this year in line with the pandemic measures. “Connecting Minds, Creating the Future" themed fair was separated into three sub-themed areas: “Terra” for sustainability, “Alif” for mobility, and “Mission Possible” for opportunity. In total, 192 countries participated with their exhibitions. The author conveys the experience of EXPO 2020 Dubai, which Turkey attended at the last moment, by recalling his student days and expressing his hope for the "District 2020" decisions following the event.

ARCHITECTURE-DEMOCRACY-PARTICIPATION

Participation and Right to the City in the Context of the City, Society, Space

/ Devrim Çimen

The author, who questions the possibility of urban participation in today’s age and constructs the historical backbone of concepts such as "urbanization", "right to the city" and "forum", commemorates the Gezi Park protests in their 9th year, after providing a critical look at recent urban competitions and "megaprojects".

ARCHITECTURAL CRITICISM

•  A Non-Plusing “Omni-Place”: Garanti BBVA Bank Technology Campus / A. Derin Öncel

The project of Garanti BBVA Technology Campus received the "Building Category Award" at the 2020 National Architecture Awards due to its “meticulous mass design that allows for the establishment of an open space by detaching the main transparent mass from the ground in the form of a bridge while determining the relationship of the building in the metropolitan area with its surrounding landscape, and for the formation of a strong and harmonious relationship with the natural topography of artificial natural masses with various functions; the plan setup that supports the outstanding mass formation, strengthening the indoor-sunlight relationship; the building envelope that provides climatic transformation, the plain and legible language of the office section’s façade; the design approach that synthesizes the dilemma created by the use of up-to date building technology systems in the production of space and the relationship the building establishes with its natural environment through an architectural language”. The author, who tries to understand the spatial effect of the structure with a subjective reading tapping into the conceptual triangle of awareness, curiosity and experience, witnesses how people can be the focus in the design of a tech-intensive building that is located next to a highway in the old industrial zone where environmental data is rapidly transforming.

• Between the Rational and the Natural: Gökçeada High School Campus
  

  / Deniz Aslan

The project of Gökçeada High School Campus received the "Building Category Award" at the 2020 National Architecture Awards due to “its design approach that increases the value of the urban neighborhood by creating open, semi-open and closed spaces (courtyard-garden, workshops, meeting rooms, etc.) that serves educational purposes as well as the inhabitants of the island, as an extension of the fragmented design logic, going beyond the conventional perception of an education building with its dimensions and fragmented structure that ensure harmony with its immediate surroundings; mass formation that does not alienate the human scale and does not harm the green environment in the area by dissolving in the mostly existing building grounds; the holistic and permeable plan composition that allows circulation within the campus and holds together the geometric diversions of the human-scaled masses that create courtyards; the architectural expression of a new modernist attitude, enriched with glass and stone clad façades, or white reinforced concrete eaves and cantilevers, subverting the ordinary with simple and meaningful touches.” The author approaches the project by tackling the existing tension between the rational decisions taken in the building program and the natural relationships driven by the material choices.

• A Space of Consensus in Conservation: Cunda Despot House / Deniz Özkut

The Cunda Despot House in Ayvalık, which was a candidate in the "Building Category Award" in the 2020 National Architecture Awards, stands out thanks to how it takes into consideration spatial needs as well the space’s historical context. The author, emphasizing the balanced nature of the sensitivity of preservation and the interventionism of renovation, dwells on some architectural principles.

• An Alternative Approach to Type Projects: The Case of ISMEP and Silivri Secondary School / C. Abdi Güzer

The Silivri Middle School of Istanbul, which was a candidate for the “Building Category Award” in the 2020 National Architecture Awards, is only one of the original designs produced within the scope of a project size that we are accustomed to see “typical projects”. Drawing attention to the simplicity of materials, the geometry at play and the functionality, the author finds this structure promising in terms of creating possible opportunities for different interpretations in educational structures.

URBANIZATION

Establishment of the Modern City in Samsun (1869-1919): An Evaluation based on “Duhan” Market, Régie Administration and Tobacco Pier / Evrim Düzenli

Urban modernization took place at a relatively early date in Samsun. Urban arrangements that would meet the changing and increasing needs of large-scale production and commercial relations became widespread after the big city fire. The author examines the modernization experience around “Duhan” Market, Régie Administration and Tobacco Pier, between 1869-1919.

PRESERVATION / REVITALISATION

Contemporary Restoration of a Bath House from the Principalities Period: Barla Çaşnigir Paşa Bathhouse Museum / Seda Şimşek Tolacı, Mehmet Ali Karagöz

Located in the Eğirdir district of Isparta, the Barla Çaşnigir Paşa Bathhouse is one of the oldest structures of the settlement it is housed in, dating back to the 14th century. Focusing on the restoration process of the building, which has the architectural features of the period it belongs to, the authors state that the goal of "displaying the working principle of traditional bath structures" of the building, which has been restored and reopened as a bathhouse museum, can also contribute to the areas of study of various disciplines.

CULTURAL HERITAGE IN DANGER

On the Preservation of Modern Architecture: İzmir AKM / A. Muzaffer Tunçağ

In this chapter of Cultural Heritage in Danger, a series which began in our 405th issue, A. Muzaffer Tunçağ wrote a piece on İzmir AKM (Atatürk Cultural Centre).

ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY

Looking at the Military Architectural Heritage from Çatalca: the Çakmak Line

/ Melik Efeoğlu, Kemal Kutgün Eyüpgiller

During World War II, when international rivalry and the race to acquire power accelerated between nations, defense structures appeared in Istanbul Çatalca, as in many parts of the world. Here, the author deals with the "Çakmak Line", and especially with the pillboxes, in terms of their potential for architectural preservation.

ARCHITECTURE OF THE REPUBLICAN PERIOD

• More Than The (Could) Not-Conserved Collective Memory and a Lost Building: Antalya Talya Hotel / İkbal Erbaş

The first "five-star hotel" in Antalya, which became a touristic city after the 1960s, was opened under the name Antalya Hotel, designed by Erözü and Loebermann. This building, which later became the Talya Hotel, was closed in 2013, date since which it awaited demolition, which finally started in April 2021. The author evaluates this recent loss and the issue of modern architectural heritage in the light of collective memory and urban memory.

• The Lost Heritage of the Early Republican Period: Samsun Coastal Railway

/ Serap Faiz Büyükçam, Şengül Yalçınkaya

The stations of the Samsun Coast Railway, which were put into operation in 1926, stand out as an important historical case as they are the first railway built with domestic capital and reflect the sociological and spatial traces of their period. The authors, studying the railway line, which has not been used since 1955, draw attention to the importance of preserving “these lines and their architectural elements, which became representative of the policies of the early republican period, earned their place both in the memory of the city and the history of national railways, and transformed the city and its social life during their years of operation.”

CONTACT

States of Material / Eren Can Altay

The author tackles the installation “Types of Spaces”, designed in collaboration with Palma-Hanghar as part of the 2021 Concéntrico International Architecture and Design Festival held in Logroño, Spain, as an amusing example of the reuse of a passageway which mostly remained unseen all through the city’s history.