borderline by Cansu Sarıkaya

borderline

architecture graduation project analysis October 2018-Januay 2019 Istanbul

Cansu SarÄąkaya 1

â&#x20AC;&#x153;for the things we have to learn before we can do them, we learn by doing them.â&#x20AC;?

Aristotle

the unrelenting feeling of insufficiency I guess this is architecture itself

CHAPTER 1 UNDER PRESSURE

The project asked to focus on new modes of living in the area around the Kadıköy coastline. Kadıköy is alive. In fact, it’s one of the remaining areas in Istanbul that has the authentic street life. It is attractive, an attraction that comes from water in the first place. Frankly, the coastal line is boring. So much undiscovered potential, yet the junk is not distinguished from the potential. All you see is pedestrian, landscape and again pedestrian. No clue of experimentation and pleasure. The only visible excitement is Haydarpaşa. Real-time experience of street life starts as you move further from the coast. Variety starts to show itself, still remaining in a recognizable typology.

The coastal line is not covered with architecture, then why is it still hindered? I was wrong in this thought, It is covered with more, ever more architecture. The coastal line is left without urbanism. Kadıköy, on the other hand, is simply urban. Theorizing begins. The resurrection of urbanism in the coastal line, along with the housing is aimed.

_mid September 8

How do you begin with theorizing? The answer is simple; with a bunch of bloodcurdling books.

A Thousand Plateaus: Capitalism and Schizophrenia Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari The Landscape of Contemporary Infrastructure Marcel Smets and Kelly Shannon Infrastructural Urbanism: Addressing the In-between Thomas Hauck, Regine Keller, and Volker Kleinekort Ecological Urbanism Mohsen Mostafavi & Gareth Doherty S, M, L, XL OMA, Rem Koolhaas, Bruce Mau , Hans Werlemann Mutations Rem Koolhaas, Stefano Boeri, Sanford Kwinter, Nadia Tazi, Hans Ulrich Obrist After the City Lars Lerup Liquid Modernity Zgymunth Bauman Future Living: Collective Housing in Japan Claudia Hildner The Right to the City, Writings on Cities Henri Lefebvre Rebel Cities From the Right to the City to the Urban Revolution David Harvey Housing Transformations: Shaping the Space of 21st Century Living Bridget Franklin A Landscape of Events Paul Virilio

binary thinking city’s will to formlessness extreme individualism enthusiasm for speed and change agglomeration projection into never formed spaces-the car navigational space, forever emerging tendency to make things more mobile ephemeralization of the house construct “life, desire, science,creation, liberty” speed dominating stasis undermining the concepts of permeanence and identity existence sliding into permanent mobility

THE CITY IS BEING SWEPT AWAY BY THE METROPOLIS adhesion to the nonevent “invisible” congestion where not to build collective consciousness multiplicity of spatial identity boundlessness alternative to modernism? the unbuilt suspended bodies deceleration of the tempo inhabitable infrastructures

M Manifesto a written statement declaring publicly the intentions, motives, or views of its issuer After some well spent time in the library, I was stuck. Great ideas, great points from great books but how to merge them? I constantly look for the answers to my problems in other people. I like the way of running an interview and gathering unrelated answers regardless of the topic.In the end, I’m more confused than ever, and my ideas are as disorganized as they ever could be. It was again a tea break from studying at the library, I was with a close friend. Desperately looking for an answer, I asked him; “What am I going to do with all those readings?”. He has this unique nature; somewhere in between being indifferent and deliberator. The answer came from his indifferent side; “Why don’t you write a manifesto?”.

_early October 12

Writing it down as a manifesto made me have an epiphany. The problem with the metropolis is not the lack of a fantastic architectural spectacle, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the problem with of time. Too often I found myself unaware of the time I spent outside. Places I â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;ve been are merely more than passageways. Even near water, where one would expect to feel the sense of what if moving and what is fixed, all I can sense was junk space. The design approach, although maybe too abstracted, was simple; cause a deceleration of time and movement with the design. Oddly enough, the project site is a parking lot, where time and movement literally stops.

ALLER ANFANG IST SCHWER all beginnings are difficult

I had been searching for a German teacher, in other words, someone to teach me German. It was difficult to find; problems appeared like where to do the course, which days to meet. If you are living in a metropolis like Istanbul, even the simplest meeting could become a burden. New modes of living addressed another function to be added to the design, also it should point out to something collective. Then I thought of architecture school. The design process itself that we have been going through is collective. Although architecture seems like a one-man show, it is just the opposite. Reflecting back on my architecture training, I clearly understood that I learned more from people around me that I learned by myself. Design approach becoming even clearer; a housing complex where the ones to teach could come and live. A place where I can go and learn German, and my brother can go practice drums. Or a place you can finally attend that yoga class that you were postponing. Instead of commodifying the space you are present in, or the learning you are doing, you belong to a community. Call it a school, or an education centre; with this system working together; it is an alternative mode of living.

IN EINER TRAUMWELT LEBEN to live in a foolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s paradise

_mid October 18

so much speed without a rhytm

STOP?

water is balance

the arteries of KadÄąkĂśy trying to reach water

one step further montage layer density without too much architecture

walk along walking is contemplation contemplation is collective thinking

liquidity formless yet unspontaneous

the balance between speed and stasis homeostasis

boundary between omitting speed and stasis the invisible boundary the flow and the water adding strips of movement

movement

exploration

interaction

unpredictability controlled chaos

carry the strips of movement

to the area to the drastic look of HaydarpaĹ&#x;a

between the strips housing

and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a center for learning

learning is connecting connecting means collective

the relation of building with street in constant change

housing units formed around intersections

creating passageways in between flexible spaces

modifying of passageways variation of learning spaces

melting of functions what is fixed? what is moving?

ABSENCE the most beautiful is S,M,L,XL

not to be present

Two days before the closure of Chapter 1, my aunt, whom I thought of pure brilliance, called me. Sensing the stress in my voice and without knowing my topic, she asked me; “Why are you rushing?” I just mumbled words as an answer. She didn’t buy it. “You know, there is a philosophy of walking. Nietzsche was a walker, Kant was a walker, Thoreau was a walker. Walking causes thinking. Just don’t give way to the illusion of speed”. I felt very relieved after that call.

I managed to stay cheerful whilst explaining my vision of Kadıköy coastline. Balance, boundlessness, spontaneity, rhythm, fluidity was among the many vague terms I have used during my theatrical, maybe too over enthusiastic talk. Why would water represent homeostasis? What would be the next step on spatializing this fancy terms?

I begin to think about the plans. Sadly, there was nothing to think.

_late October 27

CHAPTER 2 MISDIRECTION

There was a moment of pause between the two chapters, or maybe more than a moment. After that, a seminal presentation on living spaces happened. It really helped to descend from stairs of abstraction and enter the room of real-time visualization. At the end of the day, what we had to was housing; houses and flats considered collectively. Started with DoÄ&#x;an and SarÄąca Apartments in Istanbul, ended up with London Docklands.

_early November 30

C Courtyard an unroofed area that is completely or partially enclosed by walls or buildings, typically one forming part of a castle or large house

Privacy is not a function of being alone; it is how socially connected you are to those around you. Streetlife brought a decrease in social isolation. It brought a sense of connection but not a false one. The project had to bring an antidote to isolation, antidote to hierarchy. A complex process bound in a chain makes up residential architecture. Simply put, nothing is isolated from one another, interdependencies in a broad network. One of my instructor’s at architecture school had a great influence on me. His approach to space design always started from the point of view of a person. What feelings can emerge in that space, which elements could possibly give joy? He had a point; it is for people, it is for you. Not for a great article, or a poster, or an image. All of them comes later. His sayings still ring in my mind. The architecture faculty building of Istanbul Technical University is a historic building. Apart from his historical value, it has something other. Not the most special element though. He used to ask; “Where would you prefer to spend your time in Taşkışla, in exactly which spot?” the courtyard

Courtyard; allows dense urban development can grow or shrink in the form of modules That got me. Modules, agglomeration, forming a cluster, courtyards coming together and enlarging; these were excitement. Learning would happen in courtyard and housing would be around it. With that idea in mind, two modules were developed. Modules can be added to each other. The apartments get the light from courtyard, so the this allows for flexible enlargement of the system. The purpose of having folding doors on ground floor is to emphasize that courtyard can expand. Small corridors, expanding/shrinking courtyards, the sense of discovery, something complex yet not complicated was what I was trying for. Somewhere along the line, I slightly misdirected myself.

BIGNESS

beyond a certain scale

e, yet not in all terms

_mid November 38

Although the result was a misdirection, the scenario never changed. I knew the outcome matters, not the scenario; but the stories on courtyards were there. Functions melting into each other, the aim stayed the same. Maybe the definition was too broad. It needed some kind of specialization.

Definitely, flexibility didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t mean being undefined. A sense of indecisiveness was the problem. Impossibilities, mistakes, fall downs show you the exit door placed at the end of the line. Falsity has a great power of showing the truth.

CHAPTER 3 ALMOST CERTAINLY

Focused.

I started out with modules, but why stick with the module shape itself? Why use certain dimensions for the idea of the module?

3.5m Since the topic is housing, 3.5m seemed like the optimum measurement for settlement. It was a sharp decision, I was aware of it. I did not see any problem dividing the area into squares. I believed it will bring freedom instead of limitation, I still do. After this decision began the never-ending experimentation time with the lovely sugar cubes on my graph paper. I certainly wanted movement towards backwards. This would create the terraces, green roofs and the cluster look. I certainly wanted movement towards upwards. Units will add up to each other until they reach the peak; after the peak will start the disintegration.

_early December 44

ZONING

a vacuum clenaer, steri

Fragments of the 3.5m modular cubes will start from the sea and reach its peak with 6 floored housing. Within each floor, the modules added up gets less, so it looks like a hill. From the peak begins the downward movement with the main learning center building. The movement continues to ground 0 with the sports center building. Looking back now, when all I wanted to avoid was zoning; how did I end by doing mostly zoning?

ile,guaranteed efficiency

Fragmented cubes start off from the shore and give rise to the housing part. My instructorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s voice ring in my ear again; design spaces that people really could spend time in or ON; add a seating area to a stair, a terrace to the slab, a montaged bench to the facade. Design the life, make the space humancentric. Fragmented cubes do that. In fact that was the only solid thing I had in mind when I started chapter 3. Transforming housing into landscaped built form shaped as the ultimate goal in this chapter. Priority should be accorded to landscape, maybe architecture should no longer the primary element of urban order. The apartment looks no different than any other housing. I wanted that. Oftenly, simplicity is the answer. Alternation to living is not going to be achieved by a change in configuration. _mid December 51

ARCHITECTURAL

CONFIDENCE?

-Designing your housing with a core limits the modular effect you want to create. Think of the core as a tunnel in your building. Try to enable the circulation without a core; stairs from open spaces. -Obsession with the form is obvious, that masks the effect you want to create and instead of having a modular structure; you have a megastructure that acts as a wall. -Why donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t you make it transparent? -Focus on movement, interaction, and exploration. -The problem with education spaces today is that you actually have to go from point A to point B in order to learn. Make it all together. Make it in a way that moves around your structure leads to the discovery of educational spaces, and splatter the housing areas in between. Learning is discovery, bring that soul. -As if it is an alive statue.

With all that in mind, I move on to last chapter.

_late December 60

CHAPTER 4 TAKE A BOW

Let me cut to the chase: I wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t afraid to go all the way back to the beggining. So I explored the meaning and philosophy of learning once again. Learning is collaborative. Learning relies on cooperation. Learning rejects hierarchy. To learn is to move, to learn is to interact, to learn is to explore. We are all wonderfully curious beings by nature. Spaces should be configured to encourage this curiosity and create a motivation for learning. After a certain time of research, it became clearer where I should get my inspiration from; early childhood education

_early January 64

the mountain interaction spatial divisor

the flower/sand bed interaction exploration

play boxes interaction movement

urban table interaction

ELEMENTS OF

PLAYGROUND

mini music stage interaction exploration

playrollers interaction movement

resting niches interaction spatial divisor

cinematic stairs exploration

specialty sticks movement interaction

Early childhood education meant the notion of playing is integrated with the notion of learning.; that it is an act of spontaneity. If I can imagine the assigned space as a place to play and learn, letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s say a walk through the playground, why canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t this be present along the whole coastal line? Along the path to the finalization of this idea, I was introduced to Aldo van Eyck; who actually had made great attempts to treat the city as a playground. With a great deal of inspiration from his work, I treated the coast as a playground. Developing brutal and interventional playground prototypes led the way to an incremental space without architecture. Time and space interact with occasion and space. The concern is not about the learning facts but rather what you do with them. It was time to bring back the childhood of a place, the childhood of a generation.

treat

t h e ci t y a s t h e p l a y g r o u n d , you break the hiearchy

treat the city as the playground, you get a sense of your surrounding urban tissue

Non-hierarchical order led to non-definition of a main entrance. The areas assigned for learning(coded as exploration) are accompanied by free spaces (coded as interaction). The final touch is a circulation strip of movement. The rest is surrendered to chaos. The rest is left for non-event. The rest and the all is left for the play. The feeling of play becomes contagious, moving along the shore as small, combinable playground elements and finally reaching out to HaydarpaĹ&#x;a.Far from being decorative, they give way to imagination.Learning becomes blended in time and space.

The rising attitude from the shore was what I wanted to keep from my previous trials. Suddenly it all came together; a courtyard that contained the urban stage, a walking terrace for the view of HaydarpaĹ&#x;a, layered activities gathered to form an assemblage. The idea of playing borne the idea of the unbuilt, the collective consciousness and the nonevent. The residences were placed inside the towers. Three types of housing were more than enough. Even in the smallest residence, the sense of play and movement was sustained with a little touch; steps placed under the bed. After all, small elements contributed to the whole.

As for a final chapter, I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have many things to say. I was harshly criticized for being too conventional. I am, there is no doubt about that. I guess I will never understand why being conventional is seen as a negative thing. Why do we act like our designs should be groundbreaking and sensational? It seems like the more you try to make a deeper analysis in architecture, the shallower it gets. The groundbreaking, the sensational is to design the inhabitable, actual spaces. The story you are trying to tell is not a separate thing from the life you design.

After four months, I was still not sure. I guess there is a point in architecture, where one should admit that it is an ever-going process. Even a future starchitect would admit that at times, architecture is an emotionally draining process. Maybe play is the easiest way to cope with it.

_late January und so weiter 88