Location: İstanbul

Year: 2021

Employer: İstanbul Büyükşehir Belediyesi

Category: National Competition, Urban Design, Recreation, Education, Exhibition

Project Area: 4.418 m²

Team: Seden Cinasal, Ramazan Avcı, Ayşe Dağoğlu, Özge Süvari, Halil BahaAkyar, Emrah Söylemez, Nesli Naz Aksu, Çiçek Su Yavuz, Büşranur Öter, Zehra Alat, Alperen Keskin, Ali Buğra Kıyar, Oya Yaren Karaca, Aybüke Çırpan, Yağmur Karabacak, Baybars Konyalıgil, Akif Aydos, Mehmet Savaş, Halil Özbak

Consultants: Gizem Gülen, Korhan Şişman, Mehmet Zafer Kınacı, Alparslan Sütbaş

The design proposal centers the elements of the natural environment, creating a new interface between the craft workshops surrounding the site and the square. The trees that provide shading between this new interface and the meadow both form a new perimeter around the meadow and control access to the meadow together with the bushes.

 

Shrubs also contribute to the sorting of rainwater. The importance of cultural landscape in Büyükada; from its floriculture activities to its mansion gardens and exotic herb gardens. Today, a part of the cultural landscape has been preserved with different programs such as natural areas, parks, courtyards and gardens formed by the recreation areas.

However, the lack of landscape character in the coastal area, which constitutes an entrance and meeting area to the island, is remarkable. The commodification and concretization of natural beauties showed itself in Büyükada as a product of uncontrolled tourism and rent mechanisms. Therefore, it should be considered important that this memory place, which creates the first impression about the island, is a reminder of the special geography and natural beauties of the island on a high scale. The entrance area constructed in the İskele Square/Saat Square and the island meadow encountered right after it aims to reflect this identity with its character that does not need care, hosts the endemic plants of the region and creates its own ecosystem together with the creatures living in the environment.